Opinion / Columnist
Nothing to expect from power hungry opposition
03 Oct 2017 at 06:10hrs | Views
As the country draws closer to the 2018 harmonised elections, political parties are naturally expected to now unfurl their long-thought political manifestos and rich political messages in order entice voters to their side, yet the exact opposite is happening in the opposition corridors.
In what has become emblematic since the inception of the MDC-T, opposition political parties have not shown the expected desire to pronounce what they stand for or what they are offering to the electorate.
All they have done is to uninspiringly regurgitate the philosophically barren and electorally unrewarding "Mugabe-must-go" cliché while expending more time tussling for power amongst themselves.
The unrestrained hunger for power among opposition politicians has ignited rifts that saw the original 1999 MDC splinter into inconsequential political outfits that further fragmented into negligible but still power-driven political projects.
What is clear from all these manifestations is that opposition politicians are not driven by a desire to serve the people but by the urge to serve themselves.
They have an unrestrained desire to grab power at whatever cost.
Despite having splintered into many offshoots, the MDC-T has not been cured of leadership greedy as it is eternally gripped by power driven quarrels.
Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's deteriorating health seems to have opened floodgates of pitched contestations among his deputies who seek to gain an upper hand in the event that their leader eventually bows out of the political arena.
The political tiffs have become so puerile and comic to an extent that Mr Tsvangirai's co-deputies, Ms Thokozani Khupe and Mr Nelson Chamisa, reportedly came close to blows, fighting over a place to seat in the National Assembly last week.
This is kindergarten stuff one least expects from supposedly honourable politicians seconded to the august House by the people they represent.
Such childish antics expose the self-serving nature of politicians in the MDC-T. These are people who are unashamed to turn the National Assembly into a bull fighting pit.
Blinded by self-glory, these two missed the opportunity to use the august House to represent their constituencies and instead chose to serve their political egos.
Notably, the toxic bane of self-centredness also pervades the rank and file of other opposition outfits and cascades to the so-called MDC Alliance, hence there is no peace in the opposition corridors.
The political discord is the same at the People's Democratic Party (PDP). There is inordinate leadership tussling that is dangerously revealing tribal hues that also inadvertently expose the narrow political trajectory of these opposition politicians.
PDP members are so hooked to power that they cannot agree on simple terms to join the so-called coalition of opposition parties. The personal differences have so far created irreconcilable divisions that saw the party split into two, with one side subordinating itself to Tendai Biti while the other is headed by Lucia Matibenga.
Similar power related maladies have also struck Dr Joice Mujuru's National People's Party (NPP), which within a short period of time has fragmented into three different parties. Now Dr Mujuru and her deputy, Mr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo appear to be pedalling in opposite directions over coalition matters.
With less than a year left to the 2018 polls, it is clear that the opposition parties are incapable of crafting viable manifestos or ideological alternatives to rival those of Zanu-PF but are rather deeply engrossed in personal power squabbles with no solution in sight.
More disappointingly, none of the opposition power tiffs are people-driven. Instead, they are all power-driven. The shoving and tussling for power in the opposition corridors is likely to become more sharpened and fever-pitched, if not bloody, as the elections draw closer.
As things stand, the opposition parties have absolutely nothing to offer voters ahead of the 2018 polls and they should not expect to get anything from the same electorate.
In contrast, Zanu-PF is busy engaging the people through the youth, business and other interfaces where it is promoting its tried and tested people-centred ideas in preparation for the harmonised elections.
In what has become emblematic since the inception of the MDC-T, opposition political parties have not shown the expected desire to pronounce what they stand for or what they are offering to the electorate.
All they have done is to uninspiringly regurgitate the philosophically barren and electorally unrewarding "Mugabe-must-go" cliché while expending more time tussling for power amongst themselves.
The unrestrained hunger for power among opposition politicians has ignited rifts that saw the original 1999 MDC splinter into inconsequential political outfits that further fragmented into negligible but still power-driven political projects.
What is clear from all these manifestations is that opposition politicians are not driven by a desire to serve the people but by the urge to serve themselves.
They have an unrestrained desire to grab power at whatever cost.
Despite having splintered into many offshoots, the MDC-T has not been cured of leadership greedy as it is eternally gripped by power driven quarrels.
Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's deteriorating health seems to have opened floodgates of pitched contestations among his deputies who seek to gain an upper hand in the event that their leader eventually bows out of the political arena.
The political tiffs have become so puerile and comic to an extent that Mr Tsvangirai's co-deputies, Ms Thokozani Khupe and Mr Nelson Chamisa, reportedly came close to blows, fighting over a place to seat in the National Assembly last week.
This is kindergarten stuff one least expects from supposedly honourable politicians seconded to the august House by the people they represent.
Blinded by self-glory, these two missed the opportunity to use the august House to represent their constituencies and instead chose to serve their political egos.
Notably, the toxic bane of self-centredness also pervades the rank and file of other opposition outfits and cascades to the so-called MDC Alliance, hence there is no peace in the opposition corridors.
The political discord is the same at the People's Democratic Party (PDP). There is inordinate leadership tussling that is dangerously revealing tribal hues that also inadvertently expose the narrow political trajectory of these opposition politicians.
PDP members are so hooked to power that they cannot agree on simple terms to join the so-called coalition of opposition parties. The personal differences have so far created irreconcilable divisions that saw the party split into two, with one side subordinating itself to Tendai Biti while the other is headed by Lucia Matibenga.
Similar power related maladies have also struck Dr Joice Mujuru's National People's Party (NPP), which within a short period of time has fragmented into three different parties. Now Dr Mujuru and her deputy, Mr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo appear to be pedalling in opposite directions over coalition matters.
With less than a year left to the 2018 polls, it is clear that the opposition parties are incapable of crafting viable manifestos or ideological alternatives to rival those of Zanu-PF but are rather deeply engrossed in personal power squabbles with no solution in sight.
More disappointingly, none of the opposition power tiffs are people-driven. Instead, they are all power-driven. The shoving and tussling for power in the opposition corridors is likely to become more sharpened and fever-pitched, if not bloody, as the elections draw closer.
As things stand, the opposition parties have absolutely nothing to offer voters ahead of the 2018 polls and they should not expect to get anything from the same electorate.
In contrast, Zanu-PF is busy engaging the people through the youth, business and other interfaces where it is promoting its tried and tested people-centred ideas in preparation for the harmonised elections.
Source - chronicle
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