'Morgan Tsvangirai has lost it,' says Mangoma

AFTER being the target of a bruising assault at the hands of violent youths linked to Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, Elton Mangoma (EM)'s resolve to push for change continues to intensify and has put those events behind him.

The Financial Gazette's Assistant Bureau Chief, Ray Ndlovu (RN) sat down for an interview with Mangoma regarding the developments since he withdrew allegiance from Tsvangirai. Below are excerpts.

RN: Your letter to Tsvangirai earlier this year was a catalyst to the events that led to the split in the party and now a new movement has since been launched. Are you satisfied with these developments?

EM: The issue is that it was important to put those issues to Tsvangirai on record because those are issues that required to be resolved. The issues were not from an elitist point of view, but from a grassroots point of view. The responses we are seeing throughout the country bear testimony that these are issues that resonate with a great number of people in Zimbabwe. Since that letter, there has been a renewal in the way people are beginning to see politics and the change they want. We have found a lot more determination to confront the Zanu-PF government so that we see a Zimbabwe we want.

RN: Would you say Tsvangirai lost his way as a leader? If so, at what point?

EM: To be honest he lost it (his way) from a very early time, but one of the things that used to at least cover it up was his wife (Susan), because some people would have access to his wife and she had a calming influence on him. The cracks were truly exposed by the two events of Susan's death and being the Prime Minister in the inclusive government. At that point even the people who could advise and make sure that the right things are being done including damage control were also busy elsewhere. To the majority of the people, his excesses, his faults came out during the inclusive government.

RN: To what extent can blame be apportioned to Tsvangirai's inner circle for his leadership weaknesses?

EM: It is easy to blame someone else, but as a leader you cannot blame an adviser. It's you who chooses what advice to take or not to take. Spending time dwelling on his advisers is misplaced, we must spend time and blame the person who is responsible otherwise we should be focusing on those advisors to be the leaders. This man, the way I see it has failed to see what is good advice and what is bad advice and therefore he is the one who is to be blamed and no one else.

RN: In terms of the movement you are building now, does it have the capacity to put up a formidable challenge to the MDC-T, given Tsvangirai's huge grassroots support?

EM: Tsvangirai has finished himself, so it's not going to be us saying we need to do this and that to finish him off. As far as I am concerned he has finished himself and our preoccupation must be with Zanu-PF and not with Tsvangirai. But just to tell you how he has finished himself because it is also his credibility which is at stake - the things that he has done, the way that he continues to treat people is what has finished him. When he loses all these other people, you can only see that those that are hanging around him are doing it perhaps for what they think are immediate gains and when they don't get them they will pull away. So it is a myth to continue to say he has got that popularity because he does not have it. The recent by-elections clearly showed that this man has lost it. Also from a purely objective point, take away the rigging that was done if you go to each of the polling stations, it was clear of results posted outside that Tsvangirai was not always topping the list therefore was not the most popular candidate. So you had councillors and Members of Parliament who were more popular than him and therefore it meant that Tsvangirai's support base was a team effort.

RN: What is the key message of the MDC Renewal Team?

EM: The key message is that we want to create a team where there is collective decision-making, where you don't have a big man rule and where with these political reforms we will lead to the creation of a prosperous Zimbabwe.

RN: Where do you see yourself as the MDC Renewal Team in the 2018 election?

EM: We have to organise ourselves for that election. We must have reforms so that we have a just and fair election; we need to make sure that the impediments to a free and fair election are removed. It is through that the people will be free to express who they want to be the leader of this country and we know that Zanu-PF has failed and continues to fail and therefore short of using violence and other underhand tactics, they will lose the next election.