Reforms overdue in the MDC-T

A stolen election and all hell went loose!!! But what exactly should have been done and what should be done to salvage the opposition formation and by extension, the change agenda? Firstly the MDC-T in the inclusive government blundered by playing the nice workaholics in office while Zanu was out there claiming all the credit of the goods delivered by the GNU and demonizing the very MDC-T. The MDC-T ministers in the GNU were much concerned about service delivery and economic recovery of which their Zanu counterparts care nothing for.

There came the reforms front! The retention of two vice-presidents was a coup d etat for Zanu as it suits they are internal arrangements lock, stock and barrel. For the MDC-T a party that wants to show itself in complete different light with Zanu, the retention of the two VPs was betrayal. To discerning publics, it showed that there is fundamentally no difference between the MDC-T and Zanu but for the names. The security services sector reforms were frowned at Zanu and the elections were conducting with the status quo remaining, the army declaring their undying love for Mugabe. The diasporan vote was stopped in its tracks by the very Zanu goons! Mugabe unilaterally made key civil service appointments and announced the election date that suited him with the MDC-T being dragged along like a kid from a previous marriage! A resounding loss for the MDC-T was thus inevitable.

Come the result, the blame game and calls for so and so to resign kicked in. Yes, there should be reforms, far-reaching reforms within the opposition ranks if 2018 is to be different from 2013. An understanding, however, needs to be obtained of what type of reforms should be instituted. For starters, the elections showed that the only two players in the current political setting are Zanu and MDC-T. All the others are just also runs whom the electorate either do not know or do not take seriously. Against such a background, isn't it necessary that all the other Mickey mouse political put slow their overtly inflated ego, dissolve their village formations and join the MDC-T en masse? A united opposition front would certainly unseat the rogue Zanu regime.

Towards the election, there were unending reports of imposition of candidates by Chamisa and Bhebhe which resulted in some prospective candidates jumping ship and joined Welsh's drunk MDC. It is pertinent to that apart from the imposition of candidates, Chamisa was accused from different circles of sheer arrogance and opulence. Remember this boy was a secretarial student at Harare poly and a sudden display of wealth by someone who was never on any other company's payroll won't be taken lightly by discerning citizens. Rewind to 2008 when Mudzuri was organizing secretary, no such allegations were ever made against him. MDC-T managed to beat Zanu hands down. Come post elections, Chamisa rushed to twitter to absolve himself of any wrongdoing for the electoral loss. The question is that who is on twitter that he was addressing? Why did he not go to Chiendambuya to address MDC-T supporters there? Why is this boy so arrogant as not to accept the mess that he caused by imposing candidates the Zanu way? Where are his organizing abilities? Here exists a portfolio that needs to be reformed post haste Mr President Morgan lest continued embarrassment in the polls to come.

Then there are calls for Morgan to call it a day! I totally beg to differ for the reasons I have learnt about the Zimbabwean political landscape ever since I become politically literate. Let us proceed by way of anecdotes. First of all, Zimbabweans are generally politically illiterate! They are bound by personalities rather than any principles. Historically, there was Nkomo and Mugabe, then Tekere and Mugabe and currently Tsvangirai and Mugabe. Pushing Tsvangirai out would constitute political suicide for the opposition as it would take a long time before people come terms with a new opposition leader. Secondly, who in the MDC-T will take over without splitting the party in the middle? Not to say that Tsvangiari is a demi-god or should be another Mugabe, no. Tsvangirai should remain at the helm of the party into a well planned 2018 poll contest, win, run for a term and allow someone to take the country forward. The call for him to step down are being celebrated by Zanu which may have engineered them in the first place.

Having said that, what really then needs to be done in order to ensure that the opposition party goes into the polls united and strong enough to unseat the Zanu rock? First of all, all other opposition parties should smell the coffee, dissolve themselves and come to join the MDC-T preferably before the 2016 congress. At the congress, have Tsvangirai's position as president in order to protect the brand and have the rest of the positions contested anew. Realistically, none of the Madhukus, Ncubes, Makonis and Dabengwa stand any chance of unseating the Zanu monster, unless if they are only interested in have the title president of this and that party.

Then there comes the issues of policies. On the reforms front, Mwonzora and company have already sold the country to Zanu when MDC-T still had the bite through numbers in parliament and government and I doubt that now Zanu can entertain such now. The MDC-T now needs draw up what it really stands for and market it to the people. There is need to tell and show people how MDC-T is not Zanu. The issues range from tackling the economic rot, addressing perennial food shortages, addressing the culture of violence, employment creation and fighting corruption among other things. There are damages occasioned by the announcements by the party and goings-on within the party that could make this an uphill task. The recent spat of violence within the party with perpetrators being represented by Mwonzora sends a message that the party is just another Zanu where disputes are settled by the death or maiming of the other party to the dispute. Towards the 2013 election the MDC-T stated that it was going to preserve the status quo on the farms regardless of the fact that the major party of that land is not being used productively. The announcement also points to the naivety on the party of MDC-T that agriculture is at the heart of the Zimbabwean economy and ailing agricultural sectors has a ripple effect on the whole chain. Zanu is even making a volte face on its land reform agenda by publicly returning some of the farms to whites.

Should the idea of a combined opposition fail, plan B would be reforming the party from within, democratically. Similarly, Tsvangirai's position could be ring-fenced with the rest being exposed to polls in 2016. Caution should be taken for the two guys that have been vocal on their support of Tsvangirai yet they cost the party in the 2013 polls, that is, Chamisa and Mwonzora. Should they be moved to the executive without explicit positions the better! The idea of Biti representing Gono in court and singing the latter's praises also needs to be probed. How on earth can someone praise a man that has been labelled a monumental failure by the whole world? The witch hunt against opponents of Tsvangirai should be stooped post haste as it bears hallmarks of dictatorship. In all probability, I believe that if Tsvangirai believes in himself, there is no need for him to fear any internal polls, even an external transparent one!