News / National
Madhuku blasts Western donors and MDC
31 Mar 2013 at 07:09hrs | Views
Western donors feel that they have lost the battle to remove President Mugabe from power and they are now interested in any political arrangement in Zimbabwe which serves the interests of the West, National Constitutional Assembly leader, Professor Lovemore Madhuku has said.
He attacked the MDC-T leadership for abandoning the people "as they are pre-occupied with self enrichment" adding that the party made a mistake by failing to make its principles and values clear to the people over the past eight to nine years.
Prof Madhuku branded western donors as liars adding that they are not interested in any open democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail last Friday, Prof Madhuku admitted that the NCA made mistakes by relying on western donors for funding adding that from now onwards his organization would work with these donors with its eyes wide open.
"We for example were entirely donor funded. In other words, we had not made any steps as an organization to get resources from our own membership. All our funding was depended on us approaching especially western donors and asking them to support our cause for a democratic and people driven constitution.
"The mistake we made was to think that this was going to continue. That was a big mistake because many of the Western donors, don't mean what they say. They will tell you today that they are supporting an open democracy but that is only if it is in the interests of themselves and their government. We have a typical example as the NCA.
"We would not have thought that the western donors could have rushed to describe the referendum as credible when there was not enough time for voters to read the draft constitution...
"That kind of a referendum would have been unacceptable in the West. Every voter in the West would have been expected to read the draft and make up their own mind. But they didn't care about it because I think their next stage is just to get over the Zimbabwean problem.
"So it was our mistake to have thought that they could have been part and parcel of our struggle for an open democracy. They are not interested in any open democratic dispensation here. They are interested in a political arrangement in Zimbabwe which serves the interests of the West.
"Now I think that many of them feel that they have strained their relationship with Zimbabwe, they will be comfortable with any government now that they have changed their agenda. They just now want to get a normal relationship with Zimbabwe. They fought at one point against (President) Mugabe and they think that they have lost that battle.
"So if you hear this notion that they have left sanctions on about 10 people, it's just a face saver. They are too eager to get over those sanctions. If Robert Mugabe were to achieve a possibility of getting a very violent-free election, you would see that the next thing they will say is it's credible.
"This is because they now have given up. They think that western interests are better served by working with whatever government they can get in Zimbabwe in the same way they are working with even worse governments in other parts of the world.
"This was the NCA confessing that it had made mistakes to form a movement with an agenda in the country and then entirely dependent for funding that movement from the West. It's the most unwise thing."
Prof Madhuku said the NCA would survive without financial support from these western donors adding that during the campaign for the referendum his organisation got no cent from the donors who continued to give "promises and lies."
Asked what influence the western donors have on the country's politics, Prof Madhuku said: "Western donors have influence virtually in every developing country. So we should not say that it's just in Zimbabwe. They have interests everywhere and people must always be careful to check what their interests are.
"So here in Zimbabwe definitely they have interests, I am not sure to what extent but clearly at the moment they would prefer a different government from that led by President Mugabe.
"Its an open secret. If they are to end up with a government led by President Mugabe, it would simply be because they have failed to achieve a different government. It's not something sophisticated and this is not a discovery to say the western donors always have an interest.
"In many developing countries they actually go beyond what they are doing in Zimbabwe. Go to what happened in Egypt, in Libya, whats happening in Syria, what's happening in Iraq.
"All over the world, their interests are always based on a superiority complex which means that as western people we are superior to any other nation. Secondly that superiority complex then translates into what we call western interests. Ensuring that their economies are not threatened. That's always the key driving force for western domination and so on."
Prof Madhuku said he was not bitter adding that; "The only feeling I have about the situation in the NCA is a feeling of our own lack of understanding of international politics which led us to where we are now.
"They will leave you at a moment that they think you are no longer serving, or no longer in line with their interests. So I am not bitter. I can only say I have learnt a lot from that relationship that we have had as NCA with western donors.
"To have learnt a lot to the extent that we are wiser, much wiser than before. As for the future we will certainly do things differently. Even if we were to have any relation with any friendly western donor, we will do that with our eyes wide open and with a realisation that we can not put all our eggs in one basket.
"So from now on, whatever we will do whether as NCA or after the elections as a new political party, we will always be conscious of the fact that we can never rely on the western world."
Turning to the MDC-T, Prof Madhuku said there were simmering problems in the party following a decision to put Mr Tsvangirai's face on the party's campaign symbol.
"I think that most of the leaders of the MDC-T no longer look at the interests of the people. They are more interested in entrenching their own positions. And also the deep values that led to the formation of the party have been abandoned," said Prof Madhuku adding that there was no longer any relationship between the MDC-T and the NCA.
Asked what he would do differently if the hands of time could be turned to the days the MDC was formed, Prof Madhuku said: "I think there is only one thing. The only thing that I would do differently if we were to go back is to make the principles and values of the party more clear.
"In other words trying to define exactly the core values of the movement. What we have done wrongly with the MDC has been to leave the agenda of the party fairly open-ended to the extent that many people that then came to join the MDC could take the party in whatever direction."
He added: "I think he (Mr Tsvangirai) has been overwhelmed by the number of people surrounding him in the party who are clearly not focussing on the original agenda of the party.
"I think the number of people surrounding Tsvangirai at the moment are more interested in personal aggrandisement. How much they get out of the movement, do I get out richer?
When asked what he meant when he said "we cannot follow such a person who thinks the MDC-T is his personal project," Prof Madhuku explained saying: "I was just referring to the name of the party which is MDC Tsvangirai and also the symbol that they are deciding to use in the next elections which will have an open palm but with the face of Tsvangirai.
"That is a very wrong approach . . . It creates a very bad political culture in the country. Political formations must not be seen as founded around individuals. So if it happens with one dominant party, it is likely to go around and eventually be seen as a norm. This undermines the political culture in the country.
"Many people in the MDC-T itself are not comfortable with that but they may not be in a position to say no to it and I am sure it might be too late for that . . .
"So I am very clear in my mind that this is not something that is popular in the party. People might feel it maybe damaging now to start discussing issues around that ahead of the election. I think they will all put on brave faces and go to the election under those circumstances."
He attacked the MDC-T leadership for abandoning the people "as they are pre-occupied with self enrichment" adding that the party made a mistake by failing to make its principles and values clear to the people over the past eight to nine years.
Prof Madhuku branded western donors as liars adding that they are not interested in any open democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail last Friday, Prof Madhuku admitted that the NCA made mistakes by relying on western donors for funding adding that from now onwards his organization would work with these donors with its eyes wide open.
"We for example were entirely donor funded. In other words, we had not made any steps as an organization to get resources from our own membership. All our funding was depended on us approaching especially western donors and asking them to support our cause for a democratic and people driven constitution.
"The mistake we made was to think that this was going to continue. That was a big mistake because many of the Western donors, don't mean what they say. They will tell you today that they are supporting an open democracy but that is only if it is in the interests of themselves and their government. We have a typical example as the NCA.
"We would not have thought that the western donors could have rushed to describe the referendum as credible when there was not enough time for voters to read the draft constitution...
"That kind of a referendum would have been unacceptable in the West. Every voter in the West would have been expected to read the draft and make up their own mind. But they didn't care about it because I think their next stage is just to get over the Zimbabwean problem.
"So it was our mistake to have thought that they could have been part and parcel of our struggle for an open democracy. They are not interested in any open democratic dispensation here. They are interested in a political arrangement in Zimbabwe which serves the interests of the West.
"Now I think that many of them feel that they have strained their relationship with Zimbabwe, they will be comfortable with any government now that they have changed their agenda. They just now want to get a normal relationship with Zimbabwe. They fought at one point against (President) Mugabe and they think that they have lost that battle.
"So if you hear this notion that they have left sanctions on about 10 people, it's just a face saver. They are too eager to get over those sanctions. If Robert Mugabe were to achieve a possibility of getting a very violent-free election, you would see that the next thing they will say is it's credible.
"This is because they now have given up. They think that western interests are better served by working with whatever government they can get in Zimbabwe in the same way they are working with even worse governments in other parts of the world.
"This was the NCA confessing that it had made mistakes to form a movement with an agenda in the country and then entirely dependent for funding that movement from the West. It's the most unwise thing."
Prof Madhuku said the NCA would survive without financial support from these western donors adding that during the campaign for the referendum his organisation got no cent from the donors who continued to give "promises and lies."
Asked what influence the western donors have on the country's politics, Prof Madhuku said: "Western donors have influence virtually in every developing country. So we should not say that it's just in Zimbabwe. They have interests everywhere and people must always be careful to check what their interests are.
"So here in Zimbabwe definitely they have interests, I am not sure to what extent but clearly at the moment they would prefer a different government from that led by President Mugabe.
"In many developing countries they actually go beyond what they are doing in Zimbabwe. Go to what happened in Egypt, in Libya, whats happening in Syria, what's happening in Iraq.
"All over the world, their interests are always based on a superiority complex which means that as western people we are superior to any other nation. Secondly that superiority complex then translates into what we call western interests. Ensuring that their economies are not threatened. That's always the key driving force for western domination and so on."
Prof Madhuku said he was not bitter adding that; "The only feeling I have about the situation in the NCA is a feeling of our own lack of understanding of international politics which led us to where we are now.
"They will leave you at a moment that they think you are no longer serving, or no longer in line with their interests. So I am not bitter. I can only say I have learnt a lot from that relationship that we have had as NCA with western donors.
"To have learnt a lot to the extent that we are wiser, much wiser than before. As for the future we will certainly do things differently. Even if we were to have any relation with any friendly western donor, we will do that with our eyes wide open and with a realisation that we can not put all our eggs in one basket.
"So from now on, whatever we will do whether as NCA or after the elections as a new political party, we will always be conscious of the fact that we can never rely on the western world."
Turning to the MDC-T, Prof Madhuku said there were simmering problems in the party following a decision to put Mr Tsvangirai's face on the party's campaign symbol.
"I think that most of the leaders of the MDC-T no longer look at the interests of the people. They are more interested in entrenching their own positions. And also the deep values that led to the formation of the party have been abandoned," said Prof Madhuku adding that there was no longer any relationship between the MDC-T and the NCA.
Asked what he would do differently if the hands of time could be turned to the days the MDC was formed, Prof Madhuku said: "I think there is only one thing. The only thing that I would do differently if we were to go back is to make the principles and values of the party more clear.
"In other words trying to define exactly the core values of the movement. What we have done wrongly with the MDC has been to leave the agenda of the party fairly open-ended to the extent that many people that then came to join the MDC could take the party in whatever direction."
He added: "I think he (Mr Tsvangirai) has been overwhelmed by the number of people surrounding him in the party who are clearly not focussing on the original agenda of the party.
"I think the number of people surrounding Tsvangirai at the moment are more interested in personal aggrandisement. How much they get out of the movement, do I get out richer?
When asked what he meant when he said "we cannot follow such a person who thinks the MDC-T is his personal project," Prof Madhuku explained saying: "I was just referring to the name of the party which is MDC Tsvangirai and also the symbol that they are deciding to use in the next elections which will have an open palm but with the face of Tsvangirai.
"That is a very wrong approach . . . It creates a very bad political culture in the country. Political formations must not be seen as founded around individuals. So if it happens with one dominant party, it is likely to go around and eventually be seen as a norm. This undermines the political culture in the country.
"Many people in the MDC-T itself are not comfortable with that but they may not be in a position to say no to it and I am sure it might be too late for that . . .
"So I am very clear in my mind that this is not something that is popular in the party. People might feel it maybe damaging now to start discussing issues around that ahead of the election. I think they will all put on brave faces and go to the election under those circumstances."
Source - ZimPapers
