The Sunday News
Khumbula Vodloza Sibanda
The MDC recently went on an overdrive, hyping its leader Nelson Chamisa’s so-called State of the Nation Address (SONA), the pertinence of the whole shindig being a topic for another day. The much anticipated SONA has come and gone and much to the disappointment of MDC members and supporters, the address was superficial, rhetoric, delusional and empty.
To begin with, the MDC has always bragged that the party dominates urban constituencies, with Harare being its home-ground and strongest support base. In contrast, however, this event proved otherwise as MDC supporters clearly snubbed the event, as the venue did not fill up to expectation. It’s evident party members and supporters are tired of futile rallies and addresses.
As one critique put across, the MDC is an opposition party lacking in contestation of ideas, ideologies and with no solutions to offer, as their strength only lies in criticising Government. The critique further said MDC was just a party of activists and perennial hacklers, and thus, could not have described the clueless party any better.
A decade of rapid and radical transformation?
Chamisa told his supporters that 2020 to 2030 was going to be a “decade of rapid and radical transformation.” In the same vein, he said 2020 was going to be a year of demonstrations and action. This comes as no surprise as demonstrations have been MDC’s modus operandi. It is their constitutional right, they may engage in all the demonstrations they want, as much as they want; but the strategy is a tired one which points to a clueless party way over its head in trying to dislodge Zanu-PF from power.
What the demos have proved over time, is the disregard of MDC party of the welfare of its supporters as they are ones who always feel the wrath of the law either incarcerated or injured. Clearly, the party leadership needs to stretch their shallow minds and come up with new strategies where their gullible followers will not have to be exposed to the party’s violent and destructive nature.
During the address, Chamisa revealed the party’s five big fights of 2020. Interestingly, the party is the one that has been failing to uphold the five issues as will be unpacked below:
Fight for a people’s government, reforms and legitimacy
The MDC has failed to move past the 2018 elections phase, holding on to the false narrative that elections were stolen. Not only is the narrative stale, but also broken and insignificant, considering that the Constitutional Court validated the election results and declared President Mnangagwa as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. MDC was unsuccessful in proving that it was the party of choice and did not qualify to be the people’s Government, as it failed to garner enough votes to be the leading party in Government. For Chamisa to be talking of legitimacy almost halfway to the next election, shows that the party has nothing new to offer its supporters and hyping on a “stolen election” will not make the lie true much to the disappointment of their credulous supporters.
Fight for better life, dignity and livelihoods
After winning the 2018 harmonised elections, the winning party Zanu-PF continued encouraging its constituencies to take up self-help projects, including bakery, fishing, agricultural projects, among other initiatives. The MDC, instead, took to social media literally mocking Zanu-PF for these initiatives. Alas, to date, Zanu-PF has a significant number of these various successful small-scale but fulfilling projects.
Zanu-PF legislators, including Barbara Rwodzi (Chirumanzu Constituency), Tawanda Karikoga (Gokwe-Mapfungautsi) took up their constituencies to task, rebuilding bridges for example, Nyamakiti Bridge, servicing broken down boreholes and building new schools block (Nyautonge Secondary School) among other community development work, commendable projects that have gained traction on social media. This has worked towards improving the livelihoods of citizens and contributed to better standards of living.
As insignificant as these may be to the opposition, the electorate will remember when it is time to cast the vote, as history has always repeatedly shown, in favour of Zanu-PF.
In contrast, MDC legislators have only been active on social media, calling for more sanctions on the country, encouraging their supporters to engage in national shut downs and demonstrations, pursuing the “kudira jecha” narrative as prescribed by their embattled leader.
MDC would rather ask the United States to impose stiffer illegal economic embargoes on the country, than encourage its supporters to engage in small scale agriculture, horticulture, poultry, livestock or any other self-help activities. In essence, it is the MDC that needs to self-introspect and decide who really is Zimbabwe’s enemy.
In short, the party shoots itself in the foot. Come 2023, the electorate will remember to vote for that party that capacitated them to provide for their families and be owners of their destinies. In addition, MDC has promised to fight for rights, freedoms, security of persons and the rule of law. In less than a week before the party’s SONA, Chamisa had said they would hold the event, whether they got police clearance or not.
The same party that shouts loudly that it would defy police directives and do as they will, today says it would be fighting for the rule of law. Such contrasts have also been a common trait from the activist-cum-political party, as they choose to apply and confine to the laws of the land as and when it suits them.
When violent demonstrations are continuously held, when people are injured in the process, property and infrastructure destroyed by their party members, when then will they know when to draw the line and stop violating other people’s rights to freedom and security?
If truth be told, the MDC should reform first as an institution, before it expects the electorate to take it seriously as a party that’s stands for people’s rights and freedoms.
Fight against corruption
MDC has been caught up in its own fair share of corruption charges especially in its led councils, where service delivery has literally gone to the dogs. Among several urban areas, Harare and Chitungwiza have been hit the worst. In a recent audit covering the period 2013 to 2019, several issues were unearthed, including; managers being entitled to residential stands measuring thousands of square metres; bosses paying school fees for up to six children of their relatives while they were enjoying the same benefits for their own dependants and recruitment procedures being flouted, among other issues.
Also Harare City Council senior managers recently secretly approved salary increments, with the least paid manager pocketing $22 000 a month, with the Town Clerk, Engineer Hosiah Chisango pocketing $33 000 a month, at a time when council workers have gone for months without receiving their salaries.
MDC led councils have totally failed on service delivery, with refuse not being collected on time, if at all collected; failed to deliver safe, clean and portable water to residents, unattended burst sewer pipes are the order of the day and potholes continue surfacing in residential areas.
Reports have also surfaced over time that MDC has failed to pay its workers, with some taking the legal route so as to recover their salaries from the embattled party. If MDC cannot clean up its own internal corruption mess and run local councils without much hustle, what more leading a country?
Fight in defence of the Constitution and Constitutionalism
Lastly, Chamisa spoke of fighting for defence of the constitution and constitutionalism. Ironically, as indicated at the beginning, Chamisa has adamantly refused to respect the Constitutional Court outcome simply because it was not to his favour. Clearly, here is one person who would defy the Constitution willy-nilly because his huge ego and personal agendas were not entertained. The people spoke loud and clear in 2018, through the ballot, that they wanted President Emmerson Mnangagwa to lead them as prescribed by the country’s supreme law.
This is the first thing Chamisa has to accept, to prove that he will fight to defend the Constitution, failure to do this, just shows, he is all froth and no beer. Failure to respect and uphold the laws of the land are only validation that one is not capable to be the leader of the people, as he would never respect the wishes of the people as long as his personal interests are not served.
In essence, Chamisa’s SONA should be a handbook that MDC itself as a party has to take notes from. The same fights they want to take up are issues the party has to deal with internally before they can even think of being capable Zimbabwean leaders. Demonstrations and any other related action will never bring food to the tables of Zimbabweans and neither will they contribute to the growth of the country.
It is high time Chamisa climbs down from his high horse and face reality that he has failed MDC and his supporters. Zimbabweans deserve a better opposition that contributes to national development, not one whose default setting is destruction and violence.
