The fact that President Robert Mugabe wants the MDC to pull out of the Government of National Unity has been pretty obvious ever since the Global Political Agreement was signed.
With the signing of the agreement, Mugabe achieved everything he wanted, and what he had failed to do at the polls:
– He got international recognition as president of Zimbabwe after losing the 2008 elections.
– He got international acceptance, and indeed respect, for his government.
– He got an end to insane and unsustainable hyper-inflation and economic stability.
– He got SADC speaking with one voice and calling for the removal of sanctions. Even Botswana joined the chorus.
In addition, although he probably had not planned on it, he got several decent ministers, who immediately began to serve the people of Zimbabwe and returned a semblance of functionality to the portfolios of finance, health, education and others.
Mugabe and his cabal of Zanu (PF) generals and gravy-train hangers on know that if the GNU succeeds, it will herald the end of Zanu (PF) at the next polls.
It is therefore in their interests to destroy it now before the elections and then to claim the glory for the improvements in lifestyle enjoyed by some Zimbabweans during the past two years. With the discovery of large diamond deposits, and permission to sell them on international markets, Mugabe does not even need the foreign funding and balance of payments support he was sure MDCs presence in government would unlock.
So if MDC were to walk away from the GNU, Zanu (PF) would not even shed a crocodile tear. MDC activists continue to be harassed, arrested, even tortured, on frivolous charges. In this issue we carry a report about a senior policeman who is disgusted at the way in which the law is being manipulated to emasculate the MDC by cooking up a charge against the Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti. Other stories report the re-emergence of torture bases around the country and the re-deployment of armed soldiers in the rural areas, as was the case prior to the 2008 elections.
This is all in preparation for Mugabes further humiliation of the MDC. We urge Morgan Tsvangirai and his brave followers to hold their nerve and to stay in the unity government despite all these provocations. They must not lose sight of the goal posts. This is the end game. Yes Zanu (PF) will seek to frustrate and humiliate them at every turn. But what is important is a new democratic constitution leading to free and fair elections. And that will not happen if MDC pulls out of government.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga