Opinion / Columnist
MDC-T Leadership: Mudzuri better than Tsvangirai
27 Jun 2014 at 09:36hrs | Views
The misunderstandings and violence currently taking place within the MDC-T party because of the debate over issues to do with leadership renewal, resulting in the emergence of two opposing teams going in different ways, only need a new leader to stop that not Tsvangirai who is clinging on to power. A new leader would save the MDC-T from political demise and make it a force to reckon with again.
As such that confusion which has engulfed the MDC-T, causing the party to burn, can only be solved by the elevation of Elias Mudzuri, the former Harare Executive Mayor and that party's former National Organizing Secretary, to the helm of the party so that the MDC-T becomes popular again. Mudzuri, as a respected man in MDC-T and who is seen to be neutral, should take up the reigns at the party as a way of bringing sanity within it.
Mudzuri`s leaderhip qualities are not questionable as a close analysis of what he has achieved so far leaves no doubt for him to become a good leader of MDC-T. The man, who is an Engineer by profession and a former Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government , Harvard University, has what it takes to lift up the MDC-T from its leadership crisis to a position in which he can challenge ZANU PF`s political dominance. There is no doubt that his background is pregnant with achievements which should be applied to MDC-T leadership. The man would be able to lead this country, come 2018.
During Mudzuri`s reign as the MDC-T`s Organizing Secretary, the MDC-T was a strong and organised opposition party which became a force to reckon with. There is no doubt that it was Mudzuri who plotted the MDC-T`s victory against ZANU PF in 2008 resulting in that party having a majority in parliament for the first time since independence.
It is a fact that the MDC-T, under the organization of Mudzuri also managed to score forty-seven percent (47%) against ZANU PF`s forty-three percent (43%) in the 2008 presidential elections although the party failed to gain the required percentage which could have enabled it to form the next government but that victory alone was a milestone and a credit to Mudzuri`s mastery in organizing the party. The fact that those elections, for which Mudzuri was the main architecture, shows that he is a man capable of bringing back the fortunes the MDC-T can take up to the 2018 elections.
While this writer would not want to take away the credit from Morgan Tsvangirai for leading the MDC-T for more than a decade, but facts speak volumes on who should lead the MDC-T. Since 1999, Morgan Tsvangirai has contested various elections and in all of them he came out empty handed. Tsvangirai first wanted to be an MP and he contested in Buhera South. In those elections, Tsvangirai was heavily and mercilessly drubbed by Kennedy Manyonda of ZANU PF leading to him trying his luck on presidential elections. For that reasons he contested for presidential elections in 2002, 2008 and recently in 2013 but in all those elections Tsvangirai failed to win. MDC-T supporters and members were left short-changed by his inability to put a big challenge to ZANU PF`s dominance in the political field. Tsvangirai lost out in all his three bids to lead the country as the people felt that he was not good enough to become the Zimbabwean leader.
With Nelson Chamisa as the Organizing Secretary, the MDC-T was thoroughly given a hiding by ZANU PF in the July 31, 2013 harmonized elections. Chamisa`s failure to organize the party so that it puts a formidable challenge to ZANU PF`s political muscle was the reason behind why it was defeated, resulting in this current confusion in which people are calling for Tsvangirai to step down and let other people like Mudzuri and others, who are competent enough, lead the party.
Mudzuri has always won elections and never failed to show why people had to put him into power. For those quick to forget, Mudzuri won overwhelmingly against Amos Midzi of ZANU PF in the ticket to run Harare City Council as Executive Mayor at the turn of the 21st millennium and in the July 31, 2014 elections he romped to victory to become the Warren Park MP, putting to rest those questioning his leadership qualities.
Mudzuri as an individual could also have problems and misgivings that most of us may not be privileged to know, but for the information in the public domain, he has shown that leading the MDC-T will not be a problem as shown by what he did in various stages of his life. As an Executive Mayor, Mudzuri constructed the Warren Park Round About at the Warren Park D and Bulawayo Road junction, resulting in reduced road carnage at that junction as it was turning out to be a black spot especially on weekends when people were driving to Mereki Braai Centre. Reducing the road carnage through the construction of that Round About became a welcome development to the road users. Although he is no longer an Executive Mayor, he has left footprints to which people can refer to.
On the other hand Morgan Tsvangirai, besides purging those against his reign as MDC-T leader, has nothing to show which would make people remember him when he is gone. They will just remember him as someone who did not want to accommodate those with different views to his. Furthermore, people will remember Tsvangirai as someone who caused the splits of MDC in 2005 and now 2014 because of his failure to accept other people`s advices.
Now the onus is on the MDC-T people to decide either to let Tsvangirai remain as the MDC-T leader and let their party sink into political oblivion or let Mudzuri take over the MDC-T reigns and then put a formidable challenge to ZANU PF`s political dominance.
Source - John Mukumbo
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