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MDC Has Failed Zimbabweans: Political Think Tank
14 Mar 2011 at 05:26hrs | Views
A United Kingdom based political think tank says it is time the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) change its political strategy through a process of "regeneration" for it to regain public trust and keep the fight for democracy alive.
Speaking at a human rights and democracy conference organized by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in London on Saturday, Dr Leo Zeilig, Assistant Director of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit said the MDC needs some form of regeneration to put itself in a better stand which will allow it to continue the fight against President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF.
"I am far too critical of the MDC because it failed to act in 2008 when it should have. Thats when Zimbabwe had its moment to remove Mugabe. Zimbabwe now faces a crisis of the MDC," said Zeillg who has worked in Zimbabwe and the SADC region without explaining what the regeneration will entail.
He has researched and written widely about African politics and history. His books include Revolt and Protest: Student Politics and Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa and Africa's Lost Leader: Patrice Lumunda. He has also worked as a freelance journalist in Zimbabwe during the disputed presidential election in 2002 and was arrested several times in the process.
"Mugabe spoke about the redistribution of land and local wealth as a political selling point but what did the MDC do, they were stark in the old talk of respecting property rights and in the process gave Mugabe the ability to survive. The answer in Zimbabwe now lies in the regeneration of the MDC or the emergence of another movement from elsewhere," said Zeilg.
The conference also highlighted many other problems that Zimbabwe still faces, with many participants drawn from various universities across the United Kingdom suggesting that the solution to Zimbabwe's problem lies in the people themselves.
"The dictatorship in Africa is a structure and its not easy to remove them but the solution lies with the people of Zimbabwe. They have to learn to free themselves because nobody will but themselves," said Onyekachi Wambu who works with the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD).
Speaking at a human rights and democracy conference organized by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in London on Saturday, Dr Leo Zeilig, Assistant Director of the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit said the MDC needs some form of regeneration to put itself in a better stand which will allow it to continue the fight against President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF.
"I am far too critical of the MDC because it failed to act in 2008 when it should have. Thats when Zimbabwe had its moment to remove Mugabe. Zimbabwe now faces a crisis of the MDC," said Zeillg who has worked in Zimbabwe and the SADC region without explaining what the regeneration will entail.
He has researched and written widely about African politics and history. His books include Revolt and Protest: Student Politics and Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa and Africa's Lost Leader: Patrice Lumunda. He has also worked as a freelance journalist in Zimbabwe during the disputed presidential election in 2002 and was arrested several times in the process.
"Mugabe spoke about the redistribution of land and local wealth as a political selling point but what did the MDC do, they were stark in the old talk of respecting property rights and in the process gave Mugabe the ability to survive. The answer in Zimbabwe now lies in the regeneration of the MDC or the emergence of another movement from elsewhere," said Zeilg.
The conference also highlighted many other problems that Zimbabwe still faces, with many participants drawn from various universities across the United Kingdom suggesting that the solution to Zimbabwe's problem lies in the people themselves.
"The dictatorship in Africa is a structure and its not easy to remove them but the solution lies with the people of Zimbabwe. They have to learn to free themselves because nobody will but themselves," said Onyekachi Wambu who works with the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD).
Source - VOP
