Yes, ultimately Tendai Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai are fighting for the leadership of the party but first and far most it is a fight to stop the party drifting like a boat down the flooded Zambezi River; at the mercy of Mugabe who is calling all the shots in this GNU.
Contrary to what Professor Makumbe would have us believe MDC is NOT a democratic party. If it was, then the party would have never made so many monumental blunders. A democratic debate where reason is allowed to prevail would have never allowed MDC to sign on to a power sharing arrangement that effectively gave Mugabe all his dictatorial powers back. For what; the privilege of the dictator kicking MDC in the teeth!? Having made the initial blunder, no democratic party worth its salt would then let Mugabe rid rough shod over them and do nothing; which is exactly what MDC has done.
MDC’s problems go back to its formative days. The party is a mix of all sorts; individuals with grey stuff between their ears and hotheads with nothing but mud. The later were particularly good at ramble rousing which the mob find irresistible. Since the party was concerned about swelling its membership and public support the ramble rousers were welcomed and appointed into key leadership positions. At the end of the day individuals, political parties, everyone is judged on what they have done not empty rhetoric. Rhetoric has never been a substitute for well formulated and thought out policies something one can not get full democratic debate is stifled. MDC should have learnt this from Mugabe and Zanu PF.
The fight in MDC at present is for the party to have meaningful democratic debate. People like Tendai Biti are frustrated that the party should be blundering from pillar to post like a blind man when they can see the way out.
MDC, but even more so Zimbabwe, has paid a heavy price in the last year for having an effective government. MDC is part of the GNU and so it must share the blame of the GNU’s failures.
Of course, the ramble rousers in the party do not want the open debate. They do not like to have what the do or say closely questioned and scrutinised; it will not be long before they are exposed for the empty drum making the most noise that they are. They know that in a truly democratic MDC, they will be sideline or pushed out completely. The present set up has allowed them to hold positions far beyond their ability and they are very pleased with the spoils of power. They will of course fight to maintain the status quo even when that means the party and the nation drifting into dangerous waters.
Last time Zimbabweans voted for MDC out of desperation; MDC was the only viable alternative to Zanu PF. MDC has cleared failed to deliver the democratic change it promised; still the party still remains the only alternative “in the horizon” as Professor Makumbe rightly said.
Still people like Biti will be judged on what they have done regardless of whether there was an alternative party or not. Dr Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabegwa, after years as key members of Mugabe’s dictatorship, thought they could renounce the dictator and the nation will forgive them. That did not happen. Zimbabwe is in this mess because there was not even one principled leader with the guts to stand up for what is right.
The fight in MDC is over whether or not the party will continue blunder along or will reason, for once, be allowed to prevail! The October 2005 MDC split was purely about power there were just as many deadwood and sensible people in each of the resulted factions. One can only hope that this split will sort out the seed from the chuff. People like Biti should have never traded in quality for quantity! “Vana Biti vakakanganisa kukuvirira zvose mavhu namarara!”
Professor Makumbe, you have always failed to see that it was Mugabe not MDC that was under pressure to enter into the power sharing agreement. The only reason why MDC have not walked out of this GNU and what you rightly admitted to be “false peace” is because they have no plan B. They can not think of what to do next.
The GNU has allowed Mugabe to have the legitimacy that he had lost after the sham June 2008 election and the time to regroup his party. He will end the GNU and shutter the pseudo peace at a time he chooses.
MDC has done nothing to bring democratic change in Zimbabwe it promised; the political violence of 2008 is set to be repeated, freedom of expression still remain a distant dream, etc. To suggest we should give up our demand for democratic change in exchange for false peace and the shops full of food is an insult. We want real and lasting peace, all the freedoms and human rights others take for granted, economic prosperity – we want and deserve it all – and not mere of crumbs Mugabe chooses give away today only to snatch away the next day!
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