The Sunday News
Analysis Micheal Mhlanga
MDC flung a revelry at White City Stadium yesterday-the party by the party attests that the persistent comic spectacle in the MDC-T which now selectively calls itself MDC for birthday tenacities appears not to be receding anytime soon, and almost every day we wake up to a fresh episode such as the quandary of what is 17 years old? Is it the MDC or its MDC-T?
This has been an inquiry by everyone I have been nattering with. A colleague posted in a group this past week asking why the celebrations are in Bulawayo, and which party exactly is 17 years old since the posters have Morgan’s face? Perhaps Zimbabweans didn’t notice that and have forgotten history; let me remind you; Morgan Tsvangirai is not an MDC member, he was discharged in 2005 when he ascertained to be despotic, he then established his own MDC-T which is 11 years old this year.
This is the solid verity that opposition is mortified of reminding its members about. Readers do not be fooled; the party Morgan belongs to is 11 years old. It’s very sad that he is no longer as hale and hearty as he wants to be hence he constructs a figment of aging to lengthen his prosperous failures. I verily say unto you, MDC-T is following directly in the footsteps of Botswana’s opposition that is the oldest opposition in Africa with 40 years’ experience of opposing Khama’s Botswana Democratic Party (Since Ian’s father Seretse Khama) but has never unsat it, in 2019,Duma Boko with his coalition will lose again. It’s a given, never mind Khama’s own shortcomings, locally and regionally. To me, the MDC-T appears so gritty to dig its own grave that no one seems to really care now except the cheerleaders who are now specialists in bootlicking, who continue singing and marching while castigating the other factions.
That is the summary of “17” years of politics in the opposition party.
I was invited by my professor and friend Dingilizwe Zvavanhu to sit-in this other night and witness the STEM awards at the Bulawayo Rainbow. Our conversation centred mostly on diffusion of innovations amongst our Bulawayo community, though it was prefaced by Zvavanhu’s 20-or-so-minute rundown of the modern history of the global education trends and our shared experience in Netherlands in 2012, specifically, its recent drift towards directly harnessing young talent in schools, what I call the centrifugal force of the new century.
While basic, Zvavanhu’s hasty of this trend as well as its causes was as cogent and as elegantly phrased as any I have heard. It began with a sociological survey à la Bill Bishop (The Big Sort) and Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone), then moved on to the electoral and procedural questions raised by Morris P. Fiorina (Culture War?), Frances Lee (Beyond Ideology), David Mayhew (Congress: The Electoral Connection), and conclusively Taiwo Olufemi (Africa Must be modern) among others. Despite the breadth and depth of these issues, Zvavanhu barely missed a word in 20 minutes, deftly weaving divorced subjects into a re-thought justification of the high schools teenagers’ beneficiation through this science scheme.
Moreover, Zvavanhu has a way of orienting himself to people, especially students, in a manner that is simultaneously distinguished and disarming. With his trademark dashiki and dreadlocks, more befitting a painter than an academic, Zvavanhu’s eyes alighted patiently on each student at the table as he strung together sharp responses to the variety of questions I posed over almost three hours. I used to record meetings like this, back when I was a student. I wish I’d done so that night.
I say this to point out that while you may or may not agree with my characterisation of this particular academic, politics itself is not something only done by those officials who sit in the Capital (or more like fundraise in their home districts), given that — as Zvavanhu pointed out, the Greek conception of public service and public policy is ultimately the correct one; as John F. Kennedy remarked in 1960, while reflecting on the roots of his interest in government, “I saw how ideally politics filled the Greek definition of happiness — ‘a full use of your powers along lines of excellence.”
At the start of his talk, Zvavanhu said, if he were into full time politics, he would make decisions based on three considerations: What do my constituents want? What do I think is right? And what do the experts tell me? He then asked me to imagine the entire Zimbabwean population, all 13 plus million of us, in a giant football stadium — all voicing our particular proposed solutions to what we see as the nation’s problems. The professor equated this with the current political landscape in the Zimbabwe: everyone involved to some extent, though some sitting closer to the playing field than others. While this arrangement seems imperfect, messy, even repellent, and accommodating even the madly confused, he argued, it’s far superior to those states in which conversation is stifled, monopolised — or worse, silenced–in Zimbabwe democracy is there.
Our confab then spun to describe a 17 year- old teenage who in this day is a possible heir of STEM. Who grew up in a time when opposition called for sanctions on the country with the intent of mounting pressure, but simply subjected their supporters to equal suffering with those from Zanu-PF whom they proved odium for. A 17 year- old is possibly in Lower six with a string of O’level As, something to show off for. For girls, they are fast maturing into woman hood, and well for boys, the streets are still rough, at 17 you are still a boy there is nothing you are fast approaching besides being a UBA where more woes of studentship lie in wait for you.
All the same, to our parents, we are grown at that stage and that chain of passes is a marvel to the family, atleast there is optimism of an engineer, doctor, astronaut and inventor in the clan. With this imagery that was conferred, something nipped up immediately, MDC turns “11-17” years old. It’s up to you, you can decide how old they are between that age range, atleast estimate any age it’s fine, in any case, failures’ age don’t matter, an estimate is sufficient, they even do not know their name let alone when they were born. It’s like those group fivers in class, who were regulars of remedial class, some of them became case studies of teachers who gave up on them, at between 11 and 17 years they still could not spell their name and write their age and were still in primary school. We used to call them “izidharara” (meaning ancient beings than us normal, standard primary school students).
The 11-17 years old MDC (not sure if it’s the one with a T) is probably the same age as an A level student, but it has nothing to show for. They have the audacity to celebrate an unsure age of existence with a name that they denounced and decide to do that in Bulawayo, Bantu bakaMthwakazi this should prick you indeed. If there is prima facie insulting disrespect, there it is, in your own backyard, people choose not to do that in Buhera but right here at the iconic White City Stadium. A confused birthday’s venue is decided to be Bulawayo and you do not take time to think what a venue choice symbolises. In my little experience of events management, I leant that an event’s venue embodies the meaning of the event.
It is a memorable space that resonates and identifies with all aptitudes of the event. It is awe-inspiring for a couple to wed at the Victoria Falls near the actual cascades if they consider their love is interminable like the chutes. It is the interment of a commercial sex worker that happens in nightclubs or beer gardens because those cosmoses represent the character, thought and every fibre of that gone ‘nocturnal” soul. In this case, when a party is not plainly not certain of their age and name and replicates confusion, what are they saying about the beautiful lovely city of Kings and Queens?, what are they insinuating to their very supporters who throng the festivity?, in any case what success can they celebrate if five of their councillors are part of a recent massive City Council scandal and corruption which Zapu celebrated to their suspension? All these are questions that need answers, which MDC (not sure if it’s the one with a T) will surely not respond to.-Sithukiwe shem!
The speeches and resolutions delivered at this political teenager’s confused party surely tells me that man is much more a political animal than any kind of bee or any herd animal is clear. For, as we assert, nature does nothing in vain, and man alone among the animals has speech. Speech serves to reveal the advantageous and the harmful and hence also the just and unjust. It is peculiar to man as compared to the other animals that he alone has a perception of good and bad and just and unjust and other things of this sort; and partnership in these things is what makes a household and a city as the philosopher Aristotle colonises the little British left in me. Their parade and pavilion shade whilst the electorate is roasted by the sun to listen to a charade of speeches, surely is broadcast of democracy in Zimbabwe. I think it’s also democratic to be confused, don’t blame them; it’s not illegal to be a wag.
Like any other organisation that arrogates to be non-partisan and political, MDC was born out of a non-political NCA and ZCTU. ZCTU took the lead, announcing in 1999 the formation of a political party known as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) whose principal objective was “a struggle for jobs, decency and democracy.” Tsvangirai – then NCA Chair as well as ZCTU Secretary General – was elected as president of the MDC at an inaugural party congress in January 2000 and that was the last time he was ever elected, he has been in power ever since. So as they celebrated their between 11 and 17 years I am not sure MDC or MDC-T, they were celebrating Tsvangirayi’s 17 years of rulership, that is something they are not confused about. He has been in power for 17 years even after his expulsion from MDC. With MDCs continuing like this, surely 2018 will tell. It was a confused party. #2018willtell.
Micheal Mhlanga is a research and strategic communication specialist and is currently serving Leaders for Africa Network (LAN) as the Programmes and Public Liaison Officer. He also administrates multiple youth public dialogue forums in Zimbabwe including the annual Reading Pan Africanism Symposium (REPS) and Back to Pan Africanism Conference. Feedback can be sent to [email protected]
party surely tells me that man is much more a political animal than any kind of bee or any herd animal is clear. For, as we assert, nature does nothing in vain, and man alone among the animals has speech. Speech serves to reveal the advantageous and the harmful and hence also the just and unjust. It is peculiar to man as compared to the other animals that he alone has a perception of good and bad and just and unjust and other things of this sort; and partnership in these things is what makes a household and a city as the philosopher Aristotle colonises the little British left in me. Their parade and pavilion shade whilst the electorate is roasted by the sun to listen to a charade of speeches, surely is broadcast of democracy in Zimbabwe. I think it’s also democratic to be confused, don’t blame them; it’s not illegal to be a wag.
Like any other organisation that arrogates to be non-partisan and political, MDC was born out of a non-political NCA and ZCTU. ZCTU took the lead, announcing in 1999 the formation of a political party known as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) whose principal objective was “a struggle for jobs, decency and democracy.” Tsvangirai – then NCA Chair as well as ZCTU Secretary General – was elected as president of the MDC at an inaugural party congress in January 2000 and that was the last time he was ever elected, he has been in power ever since.
So as they celebrated their between 11 and 17 years I am not sure MDC or MDC-T, they were celebrating Tsvangirayi’s 17 years of rulership, that is something they are not confused about. He has been in power for 17 years even after his expulsion from MDC. With MDCs continuing like this, surely 2018 will tell. It was a confused party. #2018willtell.
Micheal Mhlanga is a research and strategic communication specialist and is currently serving Leaders for Africa Network (LAN) as the Programmes and Public Liaison Officer. He also administrates multiple youth public dialogue forums in Zimbabwe including the annual Reading Pan Africanism Symposium (REPS) and Back to Pan Africanism Conference. Feedback can be sent to [email protected]
