MDC-T must stay wary of Zanu (PF)

Principles are at the heart of every success story and while there are many areas that may be conceded in shared politics principles are not one of them.

This is President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) partys strong point. It always has been.

Opposition parties, especially ones that seek to effect change from within must, as a rule, have strong principles ones they must be prepared to stand by at all times without compromise.

It is public knowledge that Zanu (PF)s intention in the government of national unity does not translate into anything beyond the inclination to buy time, to fool everyone into believing that they can now be trusted.

Zanu (PF) and democracy

Far from it. For Zanu (PF), democracy is a convenient tool to be used or abandoned whenever it becomes politically expedient to do so.

Prior to the formation of the inclusive government Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais MDC-T party gave its supporters and indeed the generality of the people of Zimbabwe every reason to believe that they would go into the unity government with a clear cut agenda, in particular that:

(a) the government as envisioned in the global political agreement would be transitional in nature and (b) the same government would give birth to a democratic constitution with a view, immediately afterwards, to creating conditions necessary for the conducting of a free, fair and, therefore, credible election.

More importantly, their rhetoric presupposed, as it ought to have done, that they would go in there a principled party.

I am afraid what we have seen so far cannot remotely be said to be in fulfilment of that expectation. The people have ceased to matter. We have been betrayed.

When Parliaments special committee responsible for constitutional reform (COPAC) was constituted we had reason to hope that the MDC-T would maintain the only correct stance and that was to oppose and oppose vehemently the so-called Kariba Draft and advocate for a more inclusive, transparent and people-driven constitution-making process.

Harvest House Draft

But not only has the MDC T since dithered on that draft, they have gone as far as drafting what National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Lovemore Madhuku has fittingly termed The Harvest House Draft under the false pretence that that is the position of their party on the process of constitution making.

Nothing could be further from the truth. At Harvest House, they now harvest lies! They want to impose on us their little views on how the law of the land ought to be. They do not care what we think.

The MDC-T ought to be at the forefront ensuring transparency, inclusivity and that the outcome of the constitutional process is one arrived at in consultation with the people of Zimbabwe. Not to help stifle that process.

If ever there was reason to withdraw from the unity government, Zanu (PF)s disinclination to go to the people to engage them on this all important matter is more reason to do so than the issues of central bank chief Gideon Gono, Attorney General Johannes Tomana or MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennetts prosecution combined. This is the real issue. Instead they now work in collusion with the enemy.

The desire to incorporate the Harvest House Draft into what should be a people-driven constitution does not only go to show MDC-Ts dictatorial attributes, it smacks of dishonesty and gross misrepresentation. And if they cannot be trusted enough in 12 months, what more in 60?

Shortsightedness

It is a clear sign of shortsightedness on the part of MDC-T to be seduced into calling for the removal of sanctions (visa and financial restrictions imposed by Western nations on Mugabe his top allies).

At the time those sanctions were imposed a certain set of circumstances existed in Zimbabwe and sadly those circumstances remain largely unaltered to this day, not enough in my opinion to warrant even the slightest deviation from the status quo. If anything, they must be aggravated.

The real test for the lifting of sanctions must be dependent on the process leading to the crafting of a new constitution; specifically whether it is inclusive and constitutional enough and, in the final analysis, whether Zimbabwe can hold a free, fair and transparent election in terms of that constitution.

Only then, Honorable Prime Minister, can we really make an objective determination whether progress has been made.

In the interim the MDC-T must stay wary of Zanu (PF). It is in the best interest not only of the people of Zimbabwe but also of the MDC itself. With politics, as with many things in life, trust is not to be given blindly.

For its part, the MDC-T must ensure it serves the people of Zimbabwe more diligently, honestly and democratically lest we start asking the justified question: Is MDC-T the change we need?