News / Local
Tsvangirai nears endgame?
06 Feb 2014 at 07:48hrs | Views
THE Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) is now caught between a rock and a hard place as factional winds blow.
On the one hand, the party is now heavily fractured as cracks are emerging following questions over the capabilities of its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Yet at the same time, the former trade unionist is still hugely popular with the party's grassroots.In what would appear as somewhat of a schism between some elite members of the party and the grassroots - the Tsvangirai-must-go chorus is growing among some senior ranks, while some grassroots structures are defending the embattled leader.
To further fracture the party in yet more dimensions, in the top rank itself, senior members of the party are divided on whether Tsvangirai should go or stay.
The party's national executive met last Friday to deliberate on calls the week before by its deputy treasurer general Elton Mangoma for Tsvangirai to step down to increase the party's electoral chances in 2018.
The party's deputy treasurer-general cited a number of reasons why Tsvangirai should pass on the baton in a letter to his leader prior to that meeting.
Among others, Mangoma cited failure to undertake the reform agenda when still in government; accusations that MDC-T officials used their time in the inclusive government for personal aggrandizement as evidenced by Tsvangirai's acquisition of his Highlands residence, violence on dissenting voices as well as failure to follow the constitution when appointing people to key positions such as diplomats.
Mangoma also asked the former premier the following question: "How will you put closure to the issue of women in your life and ensure that these will not continue to erode your and the party's brand?"
In critiquing Tsvangirai, the party's deputy treasurer-general joins a host of other MDC-T senior officials calling for their leader to step down and among them is Roy Bennett, the party's treasurer-general; former national organising secretary Elias Mudzuri and prominent lawmaker, Eddie Cross.
Challenging Tsvangirai from within the party is now proving to be dangerous as knives are now out for those who have done so as they are vilified and criminalised.
Tsvangirai's die-hard supporters have now resorted to calling anyone who opens the leadership debate as a Central Intelligence Organisation mole or Zanu-PF plant.
Last Friday's party indaba decided to put a lid on the debate by directing that members should not express their opinions outside the party forums.
This week, political analyst, Ricky Mukonza, said recent developments in the MDC-T from there is now admission from within the party that the former Prime Minister has shortcomings that will cost the movement in future elections.
Going forward, the analyst postulated on two scenarios; firstly the MDC-T may decide to treat the matter as a non issue, proceed with Mangoma as the deputy treasurer and then replace him at the congress in 2016.
This course was seen as placing Mangoma and those who agree with him the onus to mobilise from within to possibly outwit Tsvangirai and his backers at the next congress.
The possibility of Tsvangirai being outwitted under these circumstances was said to be real as Mangoma and those who are like minded are likely to have resources.
The second scenario is that the differences between those who support Tsvangirai and those who support Mangoma will widen enough to cause a split. Under that school of thought, the Mangoma group would then make alliances with other earlier off-shoots of the MDC-T such as MDC and MDC99.
"One thing clear in both scenarios is that the MDC-T is a fractured party going forward. In conclusion, this incident has left Morgan on the spotlight from within his own party and he cannot afford to make more political blunders (including in his personal life).
"Any further blunders could see him further alienating himself from those supporting him now," said Mukonza.
But there are also those who are vehemently in support of Tsvangirai and have sought to discredit Mangoma.
There have been insinuations of failure to properly handle party finances and that Mangoma failed to develop his Makoni seat, hence he lost it in last year's poll.
National executive member Charlton Hwende has previously said Bennett and Mangoma sent the party's parliamentary candidates to face an oiled Zanu-PF in last year's polls without resources.
Writing in his personal capacity last week, Tsvangirai's spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, said his principal was a democrat as evidenced by the fact that he encouraged debate despite owing his mandate to congress and not to individuals, including those in the party's Standing Committee.
"But notwithstanding the leakage of the supposedly confidential memoranda, Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday addressed party activists at Harvest House and told them that no harm should visit Mangoma, guaranteeing his safety when he turns up at the party headquarters," wrote Tamborinyoka.
"When Engineer Mudzuri expressed his willingness to lead the party if elected by the people, the MDC president never stopped taking him for a game of golf as he has always done over the years."
Notwithstanding that, Rashweat Mukundu, the director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute told the Financial Gazette that following its defeat last year the MDC-T has remained inward looking and its electoral grief is turning into enemy identification.
That route would spell its doom as was the case for other previous Zimbabwe opposition parties.
"The natural political move after an electoral loss is for the party leadership to self introspect and step aside when one fails to deliver. The party should not be a personal project but in the case of the MDC-T a people's project. Those calling for MT's ouster are within their rights though they also need not burn the house because there is a rat inside," said Mukundu.
"So far the MDC-T risks another split and a slip into oblivion. The MDC-T faces the fate of all other opposition parties like UANC, ZUM, FORUM and ZANU Ndonga, irrelevance followed by slow death," he said.
On the one hand, the party is now heavily fractured as cracks are emerging following questions over the capabilities of its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Yet at the same time, the former trade unionist is still hugely popular with the party's grassroots.In what would appear as somewhat of a schism between some elite members of the party and the grassroots - the Tsvangirai-must-go chorus is growing among some senior ranks, while some grassroots structures are defending the embattled leader.
To further fracture the party in yet more dimensions, in the top rank itself, senior members of the party are divided on whether Tsvangirai should go or stay.
The party's national executive met last Friday to deliberate on calls the week before by its deputy treasurer general Elton Mangoma for Tsvangirai to step down to increase the party's electoral chances in 2018.
The party's deputy treasurer-general cited a number of reasons why Tsvangirai should pass on the baton in a letter to his leader prior to that meeting.
Among others, Mangoma cited failure to undertake the reform agenda when still in government; accusations that MDC-T officials used their time in the inclusive government for personal aggrandizement as evidenced by Tsvangirai's acquisition of his Highlands residence, violence on dissenting voices as well as failure to follow the constitution when appointing people to key positions such as diplomats.
Mangoma also asked the former premier the following question: "How will you put closure to the issue of women in your life and ensure that these will not continue to erode your and the party's brand?"
In critiquing Tsvangirai, the party's deputy treasurer-general joins a host of other MDC-T senior officials calling for their leader to step down and among them is Roy Bennett, the party's treasurer-general; former national organising secretary Elias Mudzuri and prominent lawmaker, Eddie Cross.
Challenging Tsvangirai from within the party is now proving to be dangerous as knives are now out for those who have done so as they are vilified and criminalised.
Tsvangirai's die-hard supporters have now resorted to calling anyone who opens the leadership debate as a Central Intelligence Organisation mole or Zanu-PF plant.
Last Friday's party indaba decided to put a lid on the debate by directing that members should not express their opinions outside the party forums.
This week, political analyst, Ricky Mukonza, said recent developments in the MDC-T from there is now admission from within the party that the former Prime Minister has shortcomings that will cost the movement in future elections.
Going forward, the analyst postulated on two scenarios; firstly the MDC-T may decide to treat the matter as a non issue, proceed with Mangoma as the deputy treasurer and then replace him at the congress in 2016.
The possibility of Tsvangirai being outwitted under these circumstances was said to be real as Mangoma and those who are like minded are likely to have resources.
The second scenario is that the differences between those who support Tsvangirai and those who support Mangoma will widen enough to cause a split. Under that school of thought, the Mangoma group would then make alliances with other earlier off-shoots of the MDC-T such as MDC and MDC99.
"One thing clear in both scenarios is that the MDC-T is a fractured party going forward. In conclusion, this incident has left Morgan on the spotlight from within his own party and he cannot afford to make more political blunders (including in his personal life).
"Any further blunders could see him further alienating himself from those supporting him now," said Mukonza.
But there are also those who are vehemently in support of Tsvangirai and have sought to discredit Mangoma.
There have been insinuations of failure to properly handle party finances and that Mangoma failed to develop his Makoni seat, hence he lost it in last year's poll.
National executive member Charlton Hwende has previously said Bennett and Mangoma sent the party's parliamentary candidates to face an oiled Zanu-PF in last year's polls without resources.
Writing in his personal capacity last week, Tsvangirai's spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, said his principal was a democrat as evidenced by the fact that he encouraged debate despite owing his mandate to congress and not to individuals, including those in the party's Standing Committee.
"But notwithstanding the leakage of the supposedly confidential memoranda, Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday addressed party activists at Harvest House and told them that no harm should visit Mangoma, guaranteeing his safety when he turns up at the party headquarters," wrote Tamborinyoka.
"When Engineer Mudzuri expressed his willingness to lead the party if elected by the people, the MDC president never stopped taking him for a game of golf as he has always done over the years."
Notwithstanding that, Rashweat Mukundu, the director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute told the Financial Gazette that following its defeat last year the MDC-T has remained inward looking and its electoral grief is turning into enemy identification.
That route would spell its doom as was the case for other previous Zimbabwe opposition parties.
"The natural political move after an electoral loss is for the party leadership to self introspect and step aside when one fails to deliver. The party should not be a personal project but in the case of the MDC-T a people's project. Those calling for MT's ouster are within their rights though they also need not burn the house because there is a rat inside," said Mukundu.
"So far the MDC-T risks another split and a slip into oblivion. The MDC-T faces the fate of all other opposition parties like UANC, ZUM, FORUM and ZANU Ndonga, irrelevance followed by slow death," he said.
Source - fingaz
