Leadership deficit cost MDC-T a fortune

Since inception of the MDC in 1999, the party has had sustained gross leadership deficit. The life president of the party, Morgan Tsvangirai, has failed to keep the party intact. Tsvangirai neither won any election, from contesting as an MP to presidential candidature, nor proffered any meaningful model as an alternative to the status quo. The reason for his successive failures is quite apparent; inability to demonstrate attractive leadership qualities that could woo voters.

Regrettably, he is a notorious dictator who led an equally not-so-democratic movement. Founding party members who noticed his autocratic tendencies broke-away from him, thereby weakening the party. The original MDC was subjected to continual denudation up to the current stage where the party's collapse is almost imminent. The prime cause is lack of charisma by Tsvangirai.

All critical partners who constituted the MDC abandoned it due to lack of faith in this confused entity. Among these are student bodies, women's pressure groups, commercial white farmers, civic society, churches, donors and the diplomatic community, to mention but a few.

His lack of leadership prowess accelerated the development of cracks, which gave rise to irreparable factionalism. The so-called Renewable Team within the party, led by Tendai Biti, is a direct result of leadership crisis bedeviling the former workers' party. Now it is just a loose coalition of remnants of founding members and Johnny come lates intent on lining their pockets with crumbs from what used to be bottomless coffers of donor funding.  

The current flight of sponsors and donors is hardly amazing, given that sponsors always expect a return on their investment, failure which they swiftly confine the under-performing horse to the slaughterhouse.  This has rendered the party bankrupt and hence a useless opposition in Zimbabwe as more time is spent on trying to resolve the circus internal squabbles instead of marketing itself as a vibrant opposition party worthy of consideration by the electorate.

Civic society groups that championed its programmes have lost hope, with donors withdrawing their funding after realizing that the MDC-T was an unfit instrument to propagate their goals. As a shepherd, Tsvangirai is utterly thoughtless. As a steward, you can entrust him with your dream, let alone life, at your own peril. It is quite unimaginable that MDC will be the same again after foolhardy Tsvangirai led it to the edge of a political cliff.

This is worsened by Tsvangirai's never-ending woes. He has been declared insolvent, not to mention the numerous child maintenance claims he is facing from a vast array of sexual partners that he jilted. Tsvangirai is a paragon of disgrace, if ever such a thing exists.