We saw it coming! We said it! The MDC steeping dip into cheap arrogance! And no one dared listen.
Robert Mugabe is not a school boy but the most shrewd and remorseless political schemer! Neither was ZANU PF a fly-by-night party, but a treacherous greed-driven organization manned by ruthless and ever hungry vultures. This was informative enough to guide whoever dared wage a contest with this institution not to take eyes off the ball! De-trenching ZANU PF from institutionalized looting grounds is no piece-meal task, but a job that requires seasoned, well-guided, cerebral and alert pedigree bull terriers.
To fight and win Mugabe and ZANU PF one needs both eyes and hands on! Engaging in multiple internal wars despairs party loyalists and impairs the sense of purpose.
The MDC does not seem to understand its vibrancy, its massive size and the aspirations of its followers, sympathizers, friends and partners. Hence Morgan Tsvangirai’s grossly misguided firing of ministers deemed to be corrupt. Morgan Tsvangirai has accused and promptly axed loyal party cadres for what he calls “poor performance”. He calls them “dead wood”. Fidelis Mhashu is deadwood, Elias Mudzuri, Thamsanqa Mahlangu and Amai Masaiti are poor performers he says. Morgan conveniently neglects giving his audience (the citizenry) the yardstick that measures performance in poorly resourced institutions like the government of Zimbabwe!
In the public’s view, no one is a full performer in the GNU due to the conditions under which the cabinet works, especially the MDC-T.
Morgan Tsvangirai is worst affected and therefore, the worst of the performers. The government that he heads has continuously harassed his Movement for Democratic Change supporters and human rights activists. The same government has failed to arrest corruption barons and probe the “Duke of Chiadzwa” who also amassed immeasurable wealth during Zimbabwe’s most desperate moment through squeezing the former white property owners for false protection against state terrorism in exchange for property, and, in some cases, window-dressing property transfers to him. Tsvangirai allowed Mugabe to “silo” his {MDC} ministers with ZANU PF activists ranging from, in some cases, the co-minister, minister or deputy, the permanent secretary and his deputy and senior directors and still expected the incumbent MDC ministers to perform ivo vakasungwa mbira dzakondo vakomana.
ZANU PF has successfully subordinated Morgan Tsvangirai in the GNU and that alone is a performance issue on Morgan Tsvangirai warranting his urgent recall from government by the party. When the Zimbabwean citizenry found itself severely humiliated by the white Rhodesian government, it rose and fought for its rightful place and got ZANU PF into power only to discover that Mugabe’s humiliation would be second to none.
The citizenry protestantly summoned enough courage and energy and chorused for Mugabe departure through the Movement for Democratic Change least expecting further embarrassment of the cadres of the revolution; the revolutionaries who nurtured, grew, sacrificed and lived for the MDC. It is really sad that the once vibrant revolutionary movement has opted to emulate Mugabe’s ZANU PF.
“Firing” has unfortunately become the most prominent word in the Tsvangirai dictionary. Morgan must start learning about communication, consultation, mutuality, diversity management, succession planning, organizational renewal, citizenry engagement, good governance, management of change and truants rehabilitation. Morgan’s approach sets a grave precedence. A leader must be both a lion and fox, but more of a fox than a lion! One would not be very wrong to assume that this set-up would see more people unjustifiable going to the gallows if Morgan gets into power. Who is Morgan hoping to please by humiliating the law abiding citizenry of Zimbabwe and the purge of fellow revolutionaries from the party that they have so much slaved for?
If Morgan was a good leader and if he had surrounded himself with men and women of mantle, the party would have come up with a most comprehensive induction programme for all its staff at Harvest House and the provinces, local authority, parliamentary and cabinet nominees which would have clearly specified their roles in their respective portfolios and both the party and citizenry expectations in a most measurable way with agreed and tested yard-sticks. Remember that the party suffers a leadership vacuum having most of its office bearers coming from the street. No sensible leader would, at any one time and level, expect miracles from a hungry, ignorant, poorly groomed and desperate cadre. Morgan Tsvangirai has displayed a severe lack of leadership.
Please note that Mugabe remains ruthless to his opponents and really protective to party loyal criminals and dead wood. When the criminals loot they lean heavily on the party ZANU PF and they get guaranteed immunity from police probes and the judiciary. This is a good strategy but extremely bad for governance.
Tsvangirai must also be clearly appraised that the MDC would never operate like a family tuck shop because it is too big and diverse. Tsvangirai’s biggest challenge is to make the best out of the wealth of diversity that thrives within the ranks of the movement rather than fear it. He must also be groomed, as a matter of urgency, not to be scared of relinquishing power to someone else because that must surely happen without fail at the right time. Morgan and entourage must be groomed to embrace change and debate and stop holding the nation hostage! The man is not of presidential material that’s what drives so much suspicion and fear against people of substance around him. Zimbabweans can’t all be trade unionists, neither can they all be political idiots nor geniuses. Morgan Tsvangirai proved himself, without reservation, to be a brave, consistent and effective fire fighter with a gross handicap in vision, strategy and tact and is a person who despises good counsel.
Morgan and entourage have failed to strategically exploit ZANU PF multi-fractured survival and to assume a government-in-waiting status. They have made a poorly informed option of crippling the soldiers of the revolution within the MDC! No! No! No! Ladies and gentlemen, this is stupid! Very stupid!
Xolela Mangcu, in a well researched article published by The Sunday Times of South Africa, of April 25 2010, page 24, quotes United States president Barrack Obama speaking in Accra, Ghana, last year, as urging Africa to eschew reliance on “strongmen” in favour of durable institutions: “…in the 21st century capable, reliable and transparent institutions are the key to success: strong parliaments, honest police forces, independent judges, and independent press, a private sector, a civil society … that is what matters in people’s everyday lives … Africa doesn’t need strong men, it needs strong institutions.” This applies to the Tsvangirai in a big way!
*Reginald Thabani Gola is a Zimbabwean political analyst, a civil society and human rights activist and an independent journalist
