Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF not treating Ndebeles as second class citizens
01 Aug 2014 at 14:11hrs | Views
Some people get over-excited over a cup of tea at some European capital and forget that they will remain Zimbabwean. The MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, during his tour of the United Kingdom recently uttered the statement that Zanu-PF is ignoring the issue of cultural equality by treating the Ndebele people as second class citizens. These words should come from a buffoon who lacks in the national vision and is of dubious revolutionary credentials.
It is real that Tsvangirai is the one who is a tribalist as shown by the 2005 split over participation in the Senatorial elections. Tsvangirai vowed that he would rather see the party split than to be led or dominated by the Ndebele. Hence the party was split over Tsvangirai's megalomania. The Ndebele who immediately noticed Tsvangirai's hypocrisy were Welshman Ncube who was then the Secretary General, Fletcher Dulini Ncube who was also the then Treasurer Greater and Gibson Sibanda who was the Vice President.
Zanu-PF showed that it is a national party without bias by including people from Matebeleland in the Unity Accord and this continuously includes at least two people in the Presidium. Right now there is the Zanu-PF National Chairman Simon Khaya Moyo and very soon someone will be appointed to the Vice President's post from Matebeleland in fulfillment of the Unity Accord. Ndebele and a plethora of minority languages have been recognized as national languages and they are being taught in schools. Moreover the Presidential Scholarship caters for all provinces in Matebeleland.
We begin to wonder how can someone in his normal senses purport in a foreign land to be an advocate of the rights of his imaginary second class citizens whom he did not recognize when he was in the Government of National Unity. He was busy and excited to be drinking coffee with President Mugabe while in Government and now he is facing imminent unemployment, hence his hallucinations in London.
It is misleading for Tsvangirai to say that Zanu-PF is treating Ndebele people as second class citizens. Syllogism that is deductive reasoning indicates that he does not know what second class citizens are and he is myopic in articulating his political schemes. Tsvangirai is easily forgetting that he made headlines in the press in April 2011 for referring to Ndebele as unreasonable and violent people. Now he is turning the tables to Zanu-PF as a way of tanning the image of the ruling party and its leader President Robert Mugabe. The old adage which aptly says that empty vessels make the most noise indeed holds sway.
It is now the right time to call a spade a spade. Tsvangirai should be told that his time to take this country to the perceived Canaan has gone and he should pass on the baton to lead the party to other people who are waiting in eager tiptoe anticipation to succeed him. His original party has been split into three formations all of them citing that he has a high affinity for dictatorship. He wants now to seek solace from the Ndebele people who have since dismissed his leadership qualities.
President Mugabe has been described by many politicians and political analysts as a great statesman who has specialized in tribal arithmetic. To say that the man is ignoring cultural equality is the misinterpretation of reality and that can easily be dismissed as cheap student politics. For democracy to prevail in the country it is health to have opposition parties. However these parties should be consistent with their ideologies, constitutions and never ever promote tribalism because it has no place in Zimbabwe.
Source - Stewart Murewa
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