Tsvangirai failed to deliver free elections when Mugabe was on the ropes

Without doubt Zimbabwe has many curses, a nation up to its eyes in the suss pit of its own making is bound to have many countless blunders and have numerous curses. One of the country's curses is having leaders who do not have the foggiest idea where they are much less where they are going; Tsvangirai is the epitome of such a leader.

"I want to conclude by restating that we have now drawn a line in the sand. We called for dialogue, but our genuine offer was spurned," Tsvangirai told 15 000 of his supporters in Masvingo over the weekend.

"We are sending out a clear and unequivocal message that we reserve our right to mobilise the people for the ultimate people's victory through a free, fair and credible election."

The MDC-T leader is mobilising his supporters for street demonstration to protest the worsening economic situation. A few months ago he had called on Mugabe to hold dialogue with his MDC party on the worsening economic situation whose end objective was another GNU.

Poor Tsvangirai, he does not know where he is politically because if he did then he would know that the best chance of the nation holding free, fair and credible elections was lost last year because no democratic reforms, the pre-requisite for free, fair and credible elections, were implemented. MDC had the majority in parliament and cabinet and had five years in which to propose the reforms and implement them. In the end the elections were held without even one reform implemented.

Mr Tsvangirai has had the benefit of hindsight for him to understand the critical importance of having the democratic reforms implemented for free, fair and credible elections. He has had over a year for this important political reality to sink in. Sadly he clearly still does not understand the critical importance of getting all the democratic reforms implemented first before elections.
 
If the penny had dropped and Tsvangirai finally understood the critical importance of getting all the reforms implemented then he would know where the nation is on the political map as contrast to where we were during the GNU. In terms of implementing the democratic reforms Tsvangirai has all the winning cards, the majority in parliament, majority in cabinet, the full backing of SADC Heads who were the guarantees of the GPA and the five-years GNU life to propose and implement the reforms.

Today it is Mugabe and Zanu PF who have all the tramp cards; SADC has no say, last year the nation adopted the weak and feeble Copac constitution which calls for no meaningful reforms and most important of all Mugabe and Zanu PF now total controls of parliament and all the institutions of state.

Implementing the democratic reforms during the GNU could not have been any easier and yet Tsvangirai failed to get even one reform implemented because he is breathtakingly incompetent. Getting any reform implemented now will not be easy, it will require careful and strategic thinking – the qualities someone who has just proven to be breathtakingly incompetent will have!
Yes of course we have to blame Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders for having failed the nation by failing to implement the reforms and thus allowing Mugabe and Zanu PF to blatantly rig July 2013 elections. But the spotlight must be turned on the Zimbabwe electorate too for it is them elected these breathtakingly incompetent village idiots into leadership positions in the first place.

The Zimbabwe electorate have too had the benefit of hindsight of the GNU events and a whole year for the facts to sink in. The very fact that 15 000 people still attended the MDC rally in Masvingo shows that political reality of Tsvangirai and his MDC friends being breathtakingly incompetent has not sunk in.

Zimbabwe is going through a really tough economic meltdown causing serious human suffering. The only plus side is the economic meltdown is forcing Mugabe and his cronies to accept that the political and economic system they have tried to impose on the nation was doomed to fail and the only way out is for the party to step down and allow meaningful political change. It is a real chance to have the democratic reforms finally implemented!

If the chance to get the reforms implemented is not to be wasted as happened to the chance to do the same thing during the GNU then God's sake let us have compete leaders this time. Sadly this seems to be a bridge too far since we have an electorate who are so blind they not only elected breathtakingly incompetent leaders once but will do so again even with the mountain of evidence of the failed leaders' blundering piled high before them.

People get the government they deserve; after 34 years we cannot deny that Zimbabwe has had the government and opposition we deserved! Whatever happens in the coming days and months, one thing will be certain "ultimate people's victory through a free, fair and credible elections", Tsvangirai is promising will remain a pipe dream as long as he remains a key player. If he could not deliver the promise when Mugabe was on the ropes it is naïve to think he can do so now when the tables have been turned in the tyrant's favour.