There are many reasons for this, of course, not least the prospect of Zanu (PF) skullduggery, but speakers felt the MDC had lost the trust of many people whose support it had taken for granted – partly because its leaders were tainted by corruption. The expulsion from the party of the Harare Deputy Mayor, Emmanuel
Chiroto, and disciplinary action against a number of councillors from other local authorities was welcomed but, at the same time, confirmed the perception that many party officials had joined the Zanu PF looting frenzy.
There was puzzlement why the MDC had simply given up on what it had said were key issues three and a half years ago: the positions of Gono and Tomana and Mugabe’s refusal to swear in Roy Bennett and MDC governors etc. Their main interest now seemed to be how much money they could make.
Questions were asked why the MDC had allowed itself to be seduced by the ludicrous constitution-making process while nothing had been done to ensure free and fair elections: a new voters’ roll, an independent electoral commission, security reforms, fair access to the airwaves, international observers etc.
Confusion is obvious – Finance Minister Tendai Biti has been touring the world expressing his admiration for Mugabe and saying how the economy is poised to power ahead. Yet now he tells a luxurious conference at the Victoria Falls that Zimbabwe has a per capita income of about $320 – scarcely half the amount considered to be the poverty line. He went on to point out that 37% of the population had no clean water, 45% no access to lavatories and less than 50% access to electricity.
Ephraim Tapa, one of the founders of the Vigil and President of ROHR and the Zimbabwe We Can movement, said politics in Zimbabwe was not working and it was up to people in the diaspora to help.
Post published in: Africa News