MDC-T should be organised on national issues

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC faction are perennial cry babies. When the negotiating process which gave birth to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was in progress, they demanded that elections should be held within eighteen months because they did not want the so-called transitional period to be too long. When the final agreement set the GPA life span to 24 months, they turned around and started advocating for an elongated period before elections can be held.

What is this behind this dangerous game they are playing? Are they so confused that, they shift goal posts based on the wind direction for the day or it's their permanent and the usual vacillation in which Tsvangirai is the leading figure? They want elections postponed to a later date, but the crux of the matter is they have tasted the sweetness of power that they do not want to move out of it so early as they sense a landslide defeat from their rivals.

The security sector reform aspect was never a GPA item during negotiations. And now they are pointing at it as a sticking point as they attempt to bring it through the back door. The military and intelligence services are institutions that operate above the scope of a political party. But it is surprising that, the MDC want to rope in these apolitical organisations into politics so as to taint their image as political organs. All security forces work to maintain peace and safeguard the country's interests within and outside Zimbabwe with no regard to the political affiliation of all citizens.

"The MDC-T formation has not yet sold to the public how they wish to reform the security sector apart from the vague noise to have it reformed. From what, to what? I think it is rational if they come out clearly how on they wish things to be. I believe they are active government players who also participate actively in policy formulation. They sit in the National Security Council as well as the Joint Operations Command (JOC). This is the right forum for them to lobby for any meaningful changes that are necessary in the security sector. This does not require any mediation by foreign players. Any attempt to do so is tantamount to compromising our internal security by putting all our cards on the table", said Ruth Moyo a social scientist.

Zimbabweans are no longer sure if this security sector reform demand by the MDC is what is instigating hatred of the police and army by the MDC supporters. When this call was gathering momentum, police officers and soldiers became targets. It came as no surprise when MDC callously murdered a police officer who was doing his duties. MDC thugs murdered Inspector Petros Mutedza, a Harare Police Officer-in-Charge for Provincial Reaction Group, at Glen View 3 Shopping Centre on Sunday May 29, 2011. The officer died a miserable death as MDC hooligans attacked him with steel bars and stones until he was dead, whilst his surviving counterpart sustained grievous bodily injuries.

In a separate but related incident, a member of the Zimbabwe National Army Kingstone Mangwena

Stationed at One (1) Commando Barracks was attacked, and killed by four suspected

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists at Seke Unit L shops, in Chitungwiza in the early hours of May 2, 2011.

One may wonder whether this is mere coincidence or it's a hyper-active strategy to air their demands for the security sector reform? If that is the case, then they should be warned that, it is suicidal! If the army and police choose to retaliate to the provocation, which I believe they will not, since they are disciplined forces, would they match the contest in any case? MDC should be rational when they direct their attention to issues of national interest or they will remain permanent novices that are irrelevant to the inspiration and aspirations of Zimbabweans.

They are key partners in the inclusive government, but under the hand they went on to set up parallel government structures while the formal government was fully functional. They hired Charles Heatly as a consultant from the UK to set-up the structures. The  MDC has been urging its Western allies to tighten the illegal sanctions against their people, at a time when all citizens expected them to lobby for their removal as per their obligation under the GPA. So which government pillars would they pay allegiance to?

These are indicators of confusion. "This explains why President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF are calling for elections in 2011. Elections would help to clear that magnitude of confusion as the winner takes all for the benefit of all Zimbabweans, and set-up a functional government which has no controversies. In the past ZANU-PF governments saved Zimbabwe in a classic manner to the best satisfaction of its people. There was no contradiction on policy formulation and implementation. There was a smooth flow on policies, for instance, the educational policies by the ZANU-PF were excellent as Zimbabwe upheld its academic standards by 97% literacy rate. Up to this day new state universities are still opening up to accommodate the ever-increasing population." recalled Dr Hlambani, a retired university lecture.

In the period of inclusive government, the education sector has faced a set-back as teachers have gone on with meager salaries artificially kept low by the adamant MDC-T Finance Minister Tendai Biti with full-backing of his principal Morgan Tsvangirai. This has removed the impetus of teachers to work with due commitment to duty. This scenario has also created a discordant on the educational legacy set-up by President Mugabe since independence.

"The inclusive government gave Zimbabweans an opportunity to discover how the MDC-T performs in government. Their short tenure displayed their out-right failure on governance matters as amateurs who should be put to rest when elections come sooner. How can we depend on dubious characters to lead us," said Ozius Rupande a former MDC activist who lives in Mabvuku.

Come elections, good ones survive while bad ones will crumble!