Opinion / Columnist
An Agenda for Tsvangirai's MDC-T
16 Jul 2014 at 21:26hrs | Views
The MDC was formed by the labour movement working in solidarity with the student, constitutional, and church movement and civil society in Zimbabwe. It was a response to a system of oppression and suppression of the predominantly black population by the black government of Robert Mugabe. There was consensus at that time on the need to rid the Zimbabwean society of injustice, inequality and the excruciating poverty that had afflicted the Zimbabwean people again.
As the Zimbabwean economy had taken a spectacular nose dive for the worse, the MDC was to transform the Zimbabwean economy into a competitive modern economy capable of bringing prosperity to the people of Zimbabwe. Thus the vision of the MDC right from its formation was to create a democratic, inclusive, happy, fair and prosperous nation well integrated into the global economy.
This meant completely dismantling the evil system of dictatorship sustained by violence, corruption and selective application of the law.
Under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai the MDC has over the years prosecuted the democratic struggle well against the odds. Yet the popularity of the movement has not transformed into real power for the people. All the elections that the MDC has participated in have been grossly irregular either through the use of brute force or fraud by the regime. Consequently over the past 15 years the people of Zimbabwe have not had a government of their choice.
Yet despite the theft of these elections and the maintenance of Zanu-PF hegemony through brute force, fraud and subterfuge, the life of the ordinary Zimbabwean has gone for the worse. The evil system of the oppression of the black man by the black government has persisted with the political rights of the Zimbabwean people being trembled under foot. Social injustice and inequality have remained the order of the day while service delivery has worsened over the years. Zimbabweans are poorer and more miserable than before. Access to key economic resources is determined on the basis of one's political affiliation or even on the basis of seniority and importance within Zanu-PF itself. This has brought with it massive corruption by the rich and powerful.
What this means is that the real reason behind the formation of the MDC has remained. The party therefore has to prepare itself to govern and to deliver the people of Zimbabwe from poverty and misery. For that reason the MDC has set itself an agenda.
First, the MDC family and the people of Zimbabwe must put aside the spectre of July 31, 2013 and focus on the next election. A lot of people had begun to write the political obituary of the MDC after the 31 July 2013 debacle. However the theft of this election was designed to sap the energy and the revolutionary zeal from the Zimbabwean people. The message that the organisers of this fraud wanted to plant into the political market is that it is not possible to defeat Zanu-PF in an election. This is a falsity as Zanu-PF has been defeated in elections before. Therefore the MDC must go back to its objective of taking over governmental power through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means. Already the dictator and his henchmen are showing signs of cracking, buckling and yielding under social, political and economic pressure.
Second, the MDC is going back to its founding values which found traction with the masses. These are the sacred values of democracy, justice, equality and equal opportunities for all Zimbabweans. These values shall become the moral compass to guide the party through these difficult stages of the democratic struggle. We must remain focused on the vision which is to create a democratic and just society anchored on the development of a prosperous, inclusive socially just and green economy. The MDC must continue imposing its rigorous expectations on all its leaders which are sensitivity, empathy, and principle.
Third, the MDC will get rid of the crisis of confidence creeping into its ranks. This democratic struggle was never meant to be a sprint but a marathon. As it has done in the past, the MDC is capable of defeating the undemocratic forces. It is learning from its past and will avoid the errors it has made before and do better in the future. The good thing is that both the people of Zimbabwe and history are on the side of the MDC. No amount of force, intimidation oppression and injustice can defeat an idea whose hour is come. The democratic struggle is a just struggle and justice always wins. Thus the MDC must retain its self-belief and the positive arrogance of old.
Fourth, the MDC needs to focus on the grand objective. The objective of the democratic struggle is not merely to get rid of Mugabe and Zanu-PF. The objective of the democratic struggle is to dismantle a system that is undemocratic, corrupt and contemptuous of the masses and replace it with a system that is based on democracy, justice equality and equal opportunities for all Zimbabweans. The resultant system must restore power and sovereignty to the masses once more. At the end of the day the social, political and economic well-being of the Zimbabwean person must turn for the better.
Fifth, the MDC must strengthen itself structurally as a credible change agent. In this regard it must embark on a process of democratically restructuring itself. In this regard corruption, vote buying and other irregularities must be eliminated in this exercise. The views that must matter should be the views of the members and not the views of the leaders seeking positions. Having done that, the MDC must continue organising and recruiting incessantly.
Sixth, a strong movement is built on the basis of solidarity with other progressive forces. The MDC will intensify its call for its prodigal sons and daughters to come back into the fold. It will encourage the smaller political formations to come into the fold. Lastly it will strengthen its traditional synergies with the trade union movement, churches and civil society.
Seventh, the MDC will have to deliver a clear message to the poor, the working and middle classes, industry and the international community. For the poor, the MDC is there to deliver them from poverty and misery. For the middle class the MDC stands for social, economic and political progress. For industry, the MDC is there to create an enabling environment for business and create a business system that is mutually beneficial, with policies that are consistent and predictable. For the diplomatic community, the MDC wants Zimbabwe to be a friend of the world and thus will establish sound diplomatic relations with other nations and cultivate a good working relationship with the donor community.
Although the task before it is daunting, the MDC is capable of delivering change to Zimbabwe. The enormity of the task should act as a motivating factor for the MDC.
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Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora is the MDC-T Spokesperson
As the Zimbabwean economy had taken a spectacular nose dive for the worse, the MDC was to transform the Zimbabwean economy into a competitive modern economy capable of bringing prosperity to the people of Zimbabwe. Thus the vision of the MDC right from its formation was to create a democratic, inclusive, happy, fair and prosperous nation well integrated into the global economy.
This meant completely dismantling the evil system of dictatorship sustained by violence, corruption and selective application of the law.
Under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai the MDC has over the years prosecuted the democratic struggle well against the odds. Yet the popularity of the movement has not transformed into real power for the people. All the elections that the MDC has participated in have been grossly irregular either through the use of brute force or fraud by the regime. Consequently over the past 15 years the people of Zimbabwe have not had a government of their choice.
Yet despite the theft of these elections and the maintenance of Zanu-PF hegemony through brute force, fraud and subterfuge, the life of the ordinary Zimbabwean has gone for the worse. The evil system of the oppression of the black man by the black government has persisted with the political rights of the Zimbabwean people being trembled under foot. Social injustice and inequality have remained the order of the day while service delivery has worsened over the years. Zimbabweans are poorer and more miserable than before. Access to key economic resources is determined on the basis of one's political affiliation or even on the basis of seniority and importance within Zanu-PF itself. This has brought with it massive corruption by the rich and powerful.
What this means is that the real reason behind the formation of the MDC has remained. The party therefore has to prepare itself to govern and to deliver the people of Zimbabwe from poverty and misery. For that reason the MDC has set itself an agenda.
First, the MDC family and the people of Zimbabwe must put aside the spectre of July 31, 2013 and focus on the next election. A lot of people had begun to write the political obituary of the MDC after the 31 July 2013 debacle. However the theft of this election was designed to sap the energy and the revolutionary zeal from the Zimbabwean people. The message that the organisers of this fraud wanted to plant into the political market is that it is not possible to defeat Zanu-PF in an election. This is a falsity as Zanu-PF has been defeated in elections before. Therefore the MDC must go back to its objective of taking over governmental power through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means. Already the dictator and his henchmen are showing signs of cracking, buckling and yielding under social, political and economic pressure.
Third, the MDC will get rid of the crisis of confidence creeping into its ranks. This democratic struggle was never meant to be a sprint but a marathon. As it has done in the past, the MDC is capable of defeating the undemocratic forces. It is learning from its past and will avoid the errors it has made before and do better in the future. The good thing is that both the people of Zimbabwe and history are on the side of the MDC. No amount of force, intimidation oppression and injustice can defeat an idea whose hour is come. The democratic struggle is a just struggle and justice always wins. Thus the MDC must retain its self-belief and the positive arrogance of old.
Fourth, the MDC needs to focus on the grand objective. The objective of the democratic struggle is not merely to get rid of Mugabe and Zanu-PF. The objective of the democratic struggle is to dismantle a system that is undemocratic, corrupt and contemptuous of the masses and replace it with a system that is based on democracy, justice equality and equal opportunities for all Zimbabweans. The resultant system must restore power and sovereignty to the masses once more. At the end of the day the social, political and economic well-being of the Zimbabwean person must turn for the better.
Fifth, the MDC must strengthen itself structurally as a credible change agent. In this regard it must embark on a process of democratically restructuring itself. In this regard corruption, vote buying and other irregularities must be eliminated in this exercise. The views that must matter should be the views of the members and not the views of the leaders seeking positions. Having done that, the MDC must continue organising and recruiting incessantly.
Sixth, a strong movement is built on the basis of solidarity with other progressive forces. The MDC will intensify its call for its prodigal sons and daughters to come back into the fold. It will encourage the smaller political formations to come into the fold. Lastly it will strengthen its traditional synergies with the trade union movement, churches and civil society.
Seventh, the MDC will have to deliver a clear message to the poor, the working and middle classes, industry and the international community. For the poor, the MDC is there to deliver them from poverty and misery. For the middle class the MDC stands for social, economic and political progress. For industry, the MDC is there to create an enabling environment for business and create a business system that is mutually beneficial, with policies that are consistent and predictable. For the diplomatic community, the MDC wants Zimbabwe to be a friend of the world and thus will establish sound diplomatic relations with other nations and cultivate a good working relationship with the donor community.
Although the task before it is daunting, the MDC is capable of delivering change to Zimbabwe. The enormity of the task should act as a motivating factor for the MDC.
------------------
Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora is the MDC-T Spokesperson
Source - Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora
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