'MDC-T will struggle to end Zanu-PF hegemony,' says Tsvangirai's ex-advisor

Constitutional law expert and former adviser to Tsvangirai during the inclusive government, Alex Magaisa, says the President Robert Mugabe's opponents will struggle to end Zanu-PF hegemony because of resource constraints.

Magaisa's comment comes at a time when the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC - which has not been spared by the economic meltdown - has hit hard times, casting doubts over its capacity to withstand the well-oiled Zanu-PF machinery in the 2018 elections.

Magaisa said while opposition parties have traditionally relied on donor support, that source of funding appears to be drying up.

"A combination of donor fatigue, misappropriation and misallocation of resources and the never-ending divisions and squabbles in the opposition have contributed to the current parlous state of affairs," said Magaisa.

"This lack of resources in the opposition, compared to Zanu-PF's access to abundant resources from both the public and private sector, is probably the single biggest impediment to change in the next elections. In light of this, one would expect the opposition parties to be more imaginative when it comes to fundraising.

"However, over-reliance on donor support in the past seems to have affected the opposition parties' fund-raising abilities," said Magaisa.

MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu confirmed to the Daily News that the party is going through financial difficulties and revealed that it is currently owed in excess of $2 million that should come from the Political Parties (Finance) Act.

MDC insiders said the party was trying to lobby through the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda to compel Chinamasa to release the outstanding portion of their funds.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Mudenda referred questions to Chinamasa who was not picking up his phone.