'Tsvangirai's threat is a cheap publicity stunt,' says Prof Moyo

GOVERNMENT has dismissed as a cheap publicity stunt reports that MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai is planning to mobilise massive demonstrations to effect regime change ahead of harmonised elections in 2018.

The embattled MDC-T leader has been holding modest rallies in the wake of increasing calls for leadership renewal in his party following his dismal loss to President Mugabe and Zanu-PF in last year's harmonised elections that saw Zanu-PF clinch well over the two thirds majority required to render the opposition redundant in Parliament.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday said Mr Tsvangirai, who has been telling his supporters that he wants to unconstitutionally unseat the Government, was now history and had nothing "massive" that he could do that he had not been able to do over the past 15 years of his party's existence.

"While Government's attention has been drawn to comments by Morgan Tsvangirai that he is planning to allegedly mobilise massive demonstrations to cause a change of Government outside the constitutional process well ahead of the next scheduled democratic harmonised elections in 2018, Government is also aware that Tsvangirai's threat is a cheap publicity stunt," Prof Moyo said.

The MDC-T leader was quoted in some sections of the media as having told his party's supporters at a rally in Zhombe last Saturday that Zimbabwe could not be held captive by President Mugabe and he would mobilise people to rise against the Government.

Prof Moyo said Government was focused on Zim-Asset rather than the rantings of time wasters.

"Government will not be distracted by publicity stunts. The Government's undivided and single-minded policy priority is the implementation of Zim-Asset in order to turnaround the economy to improve the livelihoods of all Zimbabweans.

"Otherwise what is very clear is that either Tsvangirai has massive time to waste or that his claims are a desperate but very small incompetent ploy to deal with the massive problem that he is facing from the Mangoma challenge which is self-evidently gaining momentum by the day.

"There's no serious person out there, including among the MDC-T's founders and original funders, who believes that Morgan Richard Tsvangirai can now do anything ‘massive' which he has not been able to do over the last 15 years since the ill-fated 1999 formation of his embattled party which is now in a coma on its assured way to the political graveyard.  Tsvangirai has exhausted all his options. What this means is that he is now history"'

Zanu-PF secretary for information and publicity, Rugare Gumbo, concurred saying Tsvangirai had no political future to talk about and should not use his waning popularity to engender hostility and hatred among Zimbabweans.

"We appreciate he has challenges in his own organisation and that he hopes people will assist him in the fights within his party. His opponents within the party are very strong and clear that Tsvangirai has outlived his usefulness and should, therefore, step down from the leadership of that party.

"It is clear that he has no future but he can't use those differences within his party and try to engender violence and hatred among Zimbabweans," Gumbo said.

Zanu-PF, Gumbo said, resoundingly won last year's elections and was focused on rebuilding the economy.

"We heard that while addressing a rally in the Midlands over the weekend Tsvangirai urged people to revolt against the Government on allegations of rigging elections, maladministration among others. Our view is that Tsvangirai has no moral authority to stand and urge people to engage in violence when we have just finished elections where we got a two-thirds majority in parliament and President Mugabe had over 61 percent of the votes.

"He is not dealing with issues in a balanced and mature manner, but if he crosses that line (inciting people to engage in violence) then the law will take its course," Gumbo said.