And while we are fiddling…
The Observer - 2 March 2014 - 5
In the eye of a power
storm - MDC-T
E
Salarygate - culprit-in-chief
vents in Zimbabwe since the start of
2014 have been intriguing as they have
been agonizing for many, for one reasons
or the other. The talk of town of course
is around the factional fights manifesting in the
various political outfits within our midst, notably
the leadership renewal call in the MDC-T and the
accompanying violence as well as the many factional
battles playing along in Zanu PF. This is threatening
to steal the thunder generated by ‘salarygate’, which
epitomizes the serious shortcomings apparent in our
socio-politics. Its consequences directly relate to our
economics and the real struggle that the ordinary
Zimbabwean faces daily just to survive.
Muchechetere - former ZBC boss
The revelations emanating from ‘salarygate’ speak
to the near dearth that characterizes the majority of
our state-run enterprises. These, true to government
assertions are supposed to provide critical services
to the citizens, to a scale that measures to such
services meeting constitutionally prescribed rights
of the citizens; right to water, education, healthcare,
information, et cetera. This is the first and immediate
line through which government should assert and
implement its capability to take care of the welfare
of its citizens. That this is the exact opposite of
what government through these state parastatals was
doing, speaks volume of its thinking and intent, more
so on the backdrop of a supposed overwhelming
mandate from July 31.
Has suggested that Zanu PF in-fighting is fuelling salarygate.
The undertones coming from very senior people
in Zanu PF and government linking the media
coverage of the near collapse of state parastatals to
infighting within their party should not be ignored.
It seems that for them, they have other priorities
which supersede their primary existence – namely to
govern the country and well so. And while all along
their cheap scapegoat to masking their apparent
shortcomings on service delivery has always been
sanctions, the truth has been made bare for all, even
to the non-different and ignorant observer alike.
Granted, sanctions being sanctions are supposed to
and will have an impact. And this is not to say Zanu
PF and its stewards in government did not know
about these goings-on as they now want to portray.
They knew and for one reason or the other did not
act about it. The most plausible reason being that
they were beneficiaries – direct or indirect – of all
this brazen looting, albeit legalized.
While it seems like the country is being
held to ransom over the Zanu PF factional
wars which are clearly affecting national
development, it seems the opposition MDC
formation led by former Premier Morgan
Tsvangirai is having its own share of
distractions to be able to provide a watchdog
role and oversight over the gross dereliction
of duty on the part of government. The
recent violence and on-going suppression
of leadership renewal calls within that entity
speaks to even greater dearth in terms of
the understanding of this party and its
members to the ideals and expectations of
what it purports to stand for.
So far, with the way things have been
unfolding, it is clear that this party is not a
democratic movement. And just like Zanu
PF, they believe that political differences
can be resolved through violence. It seems
too that they have mastered the art of selfaggrandizement at the expense of serving
the people’s interests. But was is beginning
to become more striking in terms of how
the MDC-T has become a miniature clone
of Zanu PF is the manner in which one
individual has come to be regarded as
indispensable to the party and therefore
to the capacity of their party to govern
the country. I find it very absurd that in
this era of democracy, we continue to be
talking about perpetual leadership by an
individual in any organization. I personally
find this notion contrary to the natural
process that bequeaths posterity – that each
present generation will pass, voluntarily or
otherwise, the baton to the next, and so
forth.
Birds of a feather? Indispensible leaders?
This then defeats the belief being
peddled by some that some individuals
are indispensable to a movement. And
this however is more telling of the
metamorphosis that the MDC-T and in
particular its leader have gone through.
Initially riding on the apparent shortcoming
of Zanu PF succession politics, in having
failed to ensure a more democratic form
of succession and leadership renewal, the
MDC-T today faces the same quandary over
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