Chamisa's ingenious letter to Tsvangirai

As I was reading MDC-T Organising Secretary, Nelson Chamisa's speech on Africa Day titled Towards the great African promise, something kept nagging me as I read on and on.

Then it hit me, after stripping off and navigating through the clientalisms, prebendalisms and neo-patrimonialisms mentioned in the article (gosh the brother sure loves them big words).
The causes of problems bedeviling Africa, as claimed by Chamisa and the solutions he offered, aptly fit and can be effectively applied to his own beleaguered MDC-T.

The challenges that Chamisa was busy "unpacking" are the very same challenges that his party is grappling with.
The young man would be well advised to take heed of Matthew 7 verse 5 which states, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
I will herein highlight snippets of Chamisa's speech/statement that really stood out:

Chamisa claims "The crisis articulates itself in the failure of Africa's leaders to rise up to the rectitude of accountability and yardstick of probity."
 Good point Mr Chamisa! I ask, is Morgan Tsvangirai rising up to the same?
He failed to display decency in dealing with the voices within the party that called for a review of the party's leadership in face of repeated failures. When called on to be accountable for leading the party to the edge of a political precipice, he chose violence and intimidation to silence any critics.

The ambitious Secretary General goes on to say, "We have the twin evils of prebendalism (Big men syndrome) and neo-patrimonialism (corrupt kleptocracy)."
Tsvangirai's "big man" attitude is exactly what has led to the current crop of problems haunting the once vibrant MDC-T. While, to give the devil his due, Tsvangirai started out as a workers' champion back in the 1990s, over the past 15 years he has lost the plot and personalized the movement. Some might say the resultant fame went to his head to the extent that he now sees the party as an extension of his bedroom where he is king. Resultantly, the party now bears his name and it's either you are with him or an enemy, which is a far cry from the founding democratically-aligned principles.

"The story of strong men as opposed to strong institutions tells a story of African leadership from Cape to Cairo and East to the West of our great continent," Chamisa continues.
Again, well put with regards to the MDC-T situation, where Tsvangirai has since emerged as the strong man to the detriment of the party. He continues to cling to the reins of power despite losing favour from some sections of the party and having repeated proven failures.

"When the avalanche of problems far outweighs the supply of solutions, then leadership is in deficit. This is our story in Africa."
This is also our story in MDC-T.
It is not in dispute that there is an avalanche of problems facing MDC-T. To mention a few of the problems, there is donor fatigue, which has left the party's coffers empty; some key members in the party, notably the Secretary General and Deputy Treasurer-General, are calling for leadership renewal; there is violent infighting over party assets throughout the provinces and a looming legal battle.

For all these problems, there is no supply of solutions, with even the esteemed party's Guardian Council failing to stabilize things and only adding to the confusion. Tsvangirai himself has since suffered a nervous breakdown.

"We however now need to move the continent from the hands of liberators to the hands of democrats…we have had and seen liberators but now is the time for democrats, modernisers and transformers to stand up and be counted, to rescue our mother continent from the jaws of tyranny, hopelessness, barbarism and backwardness"

There is no question that Tsvangirai, at one time, was perceived to be and played the role of liberator during his days at the ZCTU. He valiantly championed for the rights of workers and called for better living conditions. Unfortunately, Tsvangirai has since reached his sell-by date, a fact rightly pointed out by the Renewal Team. It would be in the best interests of the MDC-T for Tsvangirai to pass on the baton stick to "democrats and modernizers" as Chamisa calls them.

Sadly, the words "tyranny, barbarism and backwardness" are now associated with the opposition party as violent clashes now characterize their rallies. Members opposed to Tsvangirai's tyranny are ruthlessly assaulted as he looks on and kidnapped in broad daylight. If this is not the height of barbarism, I don't know what is.

Lastly, Chamisa talks of terrorist groups threatening the continent's stability.
"The tale of the barbaric terrorism on the continent courtesy of the Lord resistance army, M23, Seleka, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim), Al-shabaab and Boko Haram and Chipangano is an antithesis to the Africa our founding fathers ever imagined."

So now Chamisa wants to preach about the barbaric nature of terrorism yet his own party youths are busy ruthlessly attacking anyone who dares oppose their deity-fied leader, Tsvangirai? Since its formation, MDC-T has used violence as its favourite tool. It is also well known that were it not for the vigilance of the country's security forces, the MDC-T would have long ago transformed into a terrorist unit.

I put it to Nelson Chamisa that the challenges facing the African continent do not stem from poor leadership as he alleges but are a result of the West's interference in Africa's affairs driven by their need to plunder the continent's resources.
The problem with us Africans is that we do not want to grab the bull by the horns and assert our sovereignty. Instead we choose to tip-toe around the core of the problem with only a few leaders like President Mugabe being brave enough to face up to the West's bullying.

Wanna-be politicians like Chamisa choose to take the easy way out and blame other Africans and fellow kith and kin, taking care not to offend the West who grease their pockets. When choosing to address a problem, one should look at the root cause of the problem not the symptoms.

Given Chamisa's reputation for being a cunning schemer, I am tempted to conclude that his statement was actually directed at his party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

What he complains about of the African leaders is identical to what the Renewal Team complains of regarding Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai himself would be best advised to thoroughly peruse Chamisa's article and take notes. Who knows, maybe if he heeds the ill-directed advice, he might be able to re-invent and rejuvenate his ailing political career and fortunes. Indeed it makes for good reading as he "recharges his batteries."

Maybe Chamisa chose this ingenious way to send a renewal message to Tsvangirai after having realized that doing so openly results in bruised faces and torn shirts.
That Chamisa could claim to proffer solutions to Africa's problems when he cannot even contribute to solving his own party's problems is laughable. Charity begins at home; why not apply those remedies first to MDC-T?