Reprimand for Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC T

So many times our friends in the MDC T blast us every time we criticise or point out anything "wrong" they do as "big brother" in opposition and even associate us wrongly when we do so, but sometimes keeping quite does injustice to the opposition movement and the people looking up on us collectively.

There are two things of particular note in the recent weeks in the MDC T that really can not be left unmentioned as they do not only discredit the MDC T on its own but weakens the entire opposition as they give ruling ZANU PF every reason to blast the opposition collectively and gain them mileage.

Last week Morgan Tsvangirayi embarrassed himself making what he called a state of the nation address. I will not really go into the contents of the address which were really good issues that one would have expected to have been given to the party parliamentarians to table as motions in parliament or as contributions in the on going motions in the parliament.

The issue of concern is why and how the MDC T allows or advices Tsvangirai as opposition leader to go out and say he is presenting a state of the nation address. What capacity has opposition got to really present a state of the nation address? After presenting it the way he did THEN WHAT?

Suppose he made his address and expressed whatever he felt was the state of the country and immediately after his address, contrary, the President declares a state of emergency in the country what would have been the effect of his address. Or say alternatively, suppose in his address as opposition leader he concludes that the country is ungovernable and needs a declaration of a state of emergency and the sitting president rubbishes him, THEN WHAT?

It is only fact and logic that the sitting head of state who has at his disposal all state security agents and systems has the real capacity to proclaim a state of the nation and unfortunately so according to his own assessment and have action on it considered and/or taken. What have we as opposition got at our disposal that can really change the state of the nation and national security that we can put in place to confidently declare the conditions in the country?

Today we are told Tsvangirai was to make another state of the nation address this time to ALL diplomats seconded to Zimbabwe. How many states is the country in at one moment? Is it in one state for us ordinary Zimbabweans and in another to the diplomatic community? Why do we expose ourselves to so much unnecessary ridicule by those around us.

Look at how much a field day we have presented to ZANU PF especially through its spin man Jonathan Moyo to take Tsvangirai and the entire opposition to the dry cleaners.

The few incidents that we have had opposition leaders make a sort of a state of the nation address is when they present an Alternative State of the Nation Address and this is presented only after the sitting president has made his "official" state of the nation address in parliament and invited parliament to debate on it. The alternative state of the nation address, as the name suggests, is general a counter address to the one made by the president and is used to show or give opposition supporters an idea on how opposition MPs are going to debate and argue against the president's address in parliament.

The kind of an address that Tsvangirai makes from the blue is really of no consequence as a state of the nation address. It may have been given any other name other than a state of the nation address as it really would give the same impact as its supposed name.

The second issue is on how the MDC T has handled and reacted to the Elton Mangoma issue. Come on comrades, can we by all means try and live the D in the names not leave it. We have an obligation to be different from those we want to replace. We can not afford to let the electorate sit back and judge us and say better an old devil than a new one. Our role as opposition is to be angels to the electorate not a better or a worse off devil.

Does Mangoma really deserve all the insults, threats and alienation for expressing his thoughts and of those other party members who share the thoughts with him? Instead of answering the five very pertinent questions he asked in the letter, all attention is now diverted to tackle him as an individual.

The first time I ever heard a warning being given to anyone who wants to discuss leadership renewal was in ZANU PF and I hear it now for the second time in the MDC T. Shouldn't we be expecting an extremely fundamental difference between the two organisations?

(Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo is a member of the Welshman Ncube led Movement for Democratic Change and writes in his personal capacity and is contactable on www.facebook.com/bekezelamaduma where this post is extracted from.)