MDC-T on the ropes

Urban councils under the dominion of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) are headed for more chaos as the ruling ZANU-PF government escalates its agenda to place them under its functionaries ahead of make-or-break general elections in 2018.

Between now and the 2018 plebiscite, city fathers in MDC-T dominated municipalities essentially have only two options open to them either to play ball or fall by the wayside.

Either way, it is a zero-sum game for Morgan Tsvangirai's party, which has been on the back foot ever since it came close to gaining power in 2008, when ZANU-PF lost its majority in Parliament to the MDC-T for the first time since independence.

ZANU-PF has found a wily enforcer in the form of Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, whose other hat is that of national political commissar for the ruling party.