'Hold Mnangagwa government to account'

THE MDC celebrated its 19th anniversary at the weekend at a time life after the July 30 elections has proven difficult for the biggest opposition party and, indeed, the majority poor Zimbabweans.

This could be one reason why the commemorations were oversubscribed, if reflections from the pictures taken at the event, many of which trended on social media, are anything to go by.

No doubt, this should jolt President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government to try and find answers for the worsening fuel shortage, the currencies crises and sky-rocketing prices of basic commodities to lessen the burden on the majority poor.

We believe government must cushion the plight of Zimbabweans facing these myriads of perennial challenges that the country has been facing under successive Zanu PF regimes for over 20 years.

In the absence of a concrete solution to the challenges, the majority Zimbabweans have found a home in the opposition MDC Alliance, and no one should tag them "rebels".

One thing for certain is that life after the elections has also proven quite difficult for the country's biggest opposition, especially with the frustration that nothing has so far come out of their efforts to have the election results, which firmly placed Mnangagwa into the seat of power, overturned.

Even then, there is so much that the opposition can do besides crying foul and hoping that by some miracle, they may find themselves in the driving seat before the next elections scheduled for 2023.

In fact, the opposition should now be preparing for 2023, hoping to double their support base of over 2,1 million in the next election so that the rigging they claim was done by Zanu PF becomes difficult.

Political stakeholders should also work on electoral and other reforms before then.

There is a lot that is happening in the country right now — including unprecedented corruption — as well as an economic tailspin that has made life more difficult for the ordinary majority.

As a government in waiting, as they would have us believe, the MDC Alliance should be pointing out these shortfalls and take the front seat in bringing government to accountability.

Yet, this is glaringly lacking at the moment.

Many people are disgruntled by the high levels of corruption and ineptitude in government, yet the official opposition seems to be sleeping on its laurels at such a critical time in the history of Zimbabwe.

Why are they not tackling government on the important questions when multi-million-dollar cars (in hard currency) are being brought into the country by the ruling elite acolytes at a time ordinary citizens cannot access critical and sometimes lifesaving drugs due to a massive shortage of medicines that should be imported? It is simply tragic!

The best thing the MDC Alliance can do for all those thousands of its supporters is to question the powers-that-be: Where is the US$500 000 to buy a 2018 Rolls Royce Phantoms and US$5 million Bugattis coming from?

What business rakes in such amounts in this economic environment? If the money is being drawn from offshore accounts, are the relevant taxes being applied?

What the MDC Alliance should do now is to consolidate itself, particularly by penetrating Zanu PF strongholds and familiarise themselves with those that have been sold false dreams by the ruling party for many years and yet have nothing to show for it. These are the areas where election winners are determined, if history is anything to go by.

Rallies are good, but it is important to note that it is not everyone who attends a rally or party gathering who is a bona fide supporter or voter, as some come for the entertainment and fun associated with such gatherings.

It is misleading to judge your popularity on the basis of numbers in an area that you already dominate, anyway.