ZANU PF too intelligent for opposition parties says the MDC

The Welshman Ncube led MDC concedes that the ruling ZANU PF party is "politically too intelligent for opposition parties" and will not be defeated easily in any election.

This was said by the MDC party Spokesperson Mr Nhlanhla Dube at a Gwanda Agenda public forum held in Gwanda on Saturday afternoon. Dube said this responding to a question from the floor that by calling for a coalition to tackle ZANU PF in the 2018, the MDC was conceding that the ruling party wins elections without any rigging.

"ZANU PF may be very dull in running the economics of the country, but when it comes to the game of politics they are very intelligent and know how to play the game and can not be defeated," Dube said.

Speaking at the fairly attended public debate forum, Dube also indicated that his party led by Professor Welshman Ncube is not advocating for a "grand coalition" of opposition political parties but for a "coalition of democrats." According to Dube, the party wants Zimbabweans from across all sectors to come together and chose a single candidate for the 2018 elections.

Speaking at the same meeting, Mr Thandeko Zinti Mkandla of the MDC T said that his party President Morgan Tsvangirai does not have a solitary mandate to decide which direction the party must take but "the people are the ones that are meant to decide the direction of the party." Mkandla who refused to put his head on the block to explain the reasons for the chaos in the MDC T expressed ignorance of the on goings in his party claiming that only his superiors in Harare are aware of what is happening in the party and only them can make explanations to that effect.

Speaking on the coalition of opposition parties, Mkandla took swipe at the Ncube led MDC for trying to dictate the pace on the coalition when the party did not have as much voter proven support as his party. In response Dube, indicated that if there was to be a working coalition then the MDC T needs to move away from the "big brother syndrome" and allow people to gather at a convention and elect who they feel should be the leader of the coalition not to dictate Tsvangirai as the obvious leader of that coalition.

In a surprise statement Dube, said that contrary to popular belief ZANU PF did not the last elections through rigged elections but because the opposition parties were disorganised and failed to appeal to the electorate. Dube's sentiments are an echo of another coalition propellant Samuel Sipepa Nkomo who is leading a faction of the MDC T for renewal of party leadership and formation of a coalition against ZANU PF in 2018. Speaking at a similar public debate in Bulawayo recently! Sipepa Nkomo claimed that ZANU PF won the 2013 elections fairly as a result of a disorganised opposition.

Speaking from the floor, veteran Gwanda politician, former Ncube led MDC Mat South provincial chairman Alderman Petros Mukwena questioned the entire coalition arrangement being advocated for. Mukwena described the coalition as just a means by "perennial political failures to try and recycle themselves to relevance" perhaps in reference to the party that cancelled his membership to the party after questioning several decisions by its leaders.

Also on the podium Ms Linda Mpofu representing the civic groupings, challenged political parties to come out clean on exactly how they hope to pursue the coalition as it is evident that all of the parties want their leaders to be the leader of the proposed coalition. Mpofu also accused political parties of not paying hid to the preferences of women in the grass roots by imposing who should represent women in parliament. Mpofu claims that political parties pick women that are always close to the predominantly male leaderships to represent women in positions of authority without giving women in the grass roots a chance to chose who they want to be their representatives which is why women issues are not being fully addresses in parliament.

The much awaited ZANU PF Gwanda Central Member of the House of Assembly Edison Gumbo of ZANU PF did not turn up for the discussion though some expectant ZANU PF supporters were in the room.