Frankly speaking, this talk about intra-party talks will not get us anywhere; it is futile. It is clear from the beginning that the two parties will never find each other in order to even start negotiations. Tsvangirai insists Zanu (PF) must negotiate with his party basically because it has failed to fix the economy after rigging last year’s elections. In other words, he wants President Robert Mugabe to acknowledge that he and his party stole the polls and then succumb to a re-run that might produce legitimate results.
Poles apart we have Rugare Gumbo, who, after dismissing calls for talks over a lengthy period, now says Zanu (PF) will avail itself for talks with MDC. There is a loud BUT, though, because he wants the MDC to first acknowledge that Zanu (PF) actually won the elections without rigging.
If MDC went ahead and gave legitimacy to the elections, what would be the basis for talks between the two parties? And would it be prudent or sustainable for MDC to do that? My learned guess is a resounding no.
The Zanu (PF) government’s crisis is one of perception. Investors are not yet prepared to release the purse-strings because they cannot trust the party that they believe cleverly stole the 2013 polls. They don’t trust its indigenisation policy and feel Mugabe is too old to be leading the country. All talk about sanitising and toning down the policy would always be in vain.
That is why the economy went into renewed free fall after the elections. It is telling that Gumbo has set acceptance of the poll results as a basic condition for engagement. Zanu (PF) wants legitimacy and an MDC endorsement of the polls is the miracle it dreams of. An MDC endorsement of the elections would, to a large extent, remove the negative perception under which the party and its government are reeling.
Assuming that, anxious for talks and a possible GNU 2, the MDC would legitimise the poll results, Zanu (PF) would once again laugh all the way to the bank and beyond. There is no doubt the ruling party’s hold on power is threatened by the ever-worsening economic malaise. A new marriage with the MDC would be likely to revive the economy, just as it did from the time of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and during the subsequent coalition government between 2009 and 2013. It is indeed true that the GPA and GNU gave Zanu (PF) a new lease of life.
If MDC had not agreed to the coalition, Zanu (PF) would be as dead as a dodo by now. Mugabe’s fervent loyalists in southern Africa were increasingly ditching him over the disputed and bloody June 2008 presidential run-off, and the international community was tightening the screws. Shops were empty and even State House was tottering without electricity, as Mugabe then admitted.
It would have taken a miracle for Mugabe and Zanu (PF) to remain on their feet into the second half of 2009. The GNU gave the party the much-wanted opportunity to regroup, reorganise and reclaim power. It was also the opium that sent the MDC to sleep, once they had discovered the taste of power – never mind the fact that theirs was unreal power as all political authority remained with Zanu (PF).
There would certainly be a sequel if MDC were to get carried away with the so-called talks. Zanu (PF) would get the legitimacy it is seeking, and seize yet another chance to resuscitate itself and dump its rival. Besides, getting into talks with Zanu (PF) would demonstrate how confused the MDC is, after having shouted itself hoarse condemning the elections as rigged.
A further danger lurks in the call for talks. It will waste valuable time as everybody gawks at two political parties squabbling as the nation burns. There are too many pressing issues that need immediate solutions. Political talks, as we have seen in the past, can divert attention from those burning matters, particularly to do with the economy.
In any case, there is need to avoid this emerging culture whereby political parties have to resort to talks whenever the one that is in power fails. While this suggestion might be painful, let Zanu (PF) bask in its election victory “glory” and rot in it too. This is the time for any opposition worth its salt to prove to the electorate that it presents a sustainable alternative and, come the next polls in 2018, most of the work to take over would have been done. – To comment on this article, please contact majonitt@gmail.com
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis
Whatever!?!
If MT can convince three Adult Women in a year that he is the best thing since Chibuku, Biltong and Bubblegum, there is no telling who else he can convince about Whatever with his aftershave and forked tongue. Hoykoyu Zimbabwe!
There must be far better men than him in MDC-T around the table who can negotiate a better deal, I am sure. They just have to work at getting as much publicity as he does.
I agree with you Tawanda, MDC shouldn’t bother themselves by inviting Zanu Pf for talks, rather they should leave Zanu PF to fight its own wars since they are the ones in power. MDC should be busy restructuring their party for 2018 elections. Zanu Pf knows it very well that they rigged the electionS. It is their mandate to fix the economy. They should provide Zimbabweans with the 2 million jobs promised by Robert Mugabe in the run up to the July 2013 elections.
Sissi Monica munopenga. Ndimi vanhu makavhotera Zanu Pf into power. Instead of you fighting to liberate yourself by removing Mugabe from power, you are busy talking about Morgan Tsvangirai. For your own information, Morgan Tsvangirai is better off than Robert Mugabe. Bvisai mudhara Robert Mugabe panyanga achembera and go for fresh elctions, kwete kutaura zvekupenga izvo.
@ Tawanda
The 2008 did bring a number of significant economic changes because there were two things the nation could do and did; scrap the Z$ and end price controls. Within weeks of doing these things inflation dropped from 500 billion % to single digit figures and the shop filled with goods. GNU2 will have no such easy answers.
You are right Zanu PF has lost credibility after rigging the elections. But this time MDC too has lost credibility after failing to implement even one democratic reform.
Both Zanu PF and MDC will not want to talk about implementing the democratic reforms for dif-ferent reasons and so the prospect of a legitimate government emerging soon will be zero. The international community is not interested in dealing with anything else other than a legitimate government.
My view is that Zanu PF should accept that it has failed and step aside and allow an interim ad-ministration to be appointed. The administration will be tasked to implement the reforms and hold fresh elections.
Of course both Zanu PF and MDC would want to play a key but the truth is neither will contribute anything of value. The nation is facing a real economic nightmare and can ill afford to waste time watching two crabs doing salsa dance! Whether or not the two crabs square up for a dance will depend on whether the Zimbabwe public are awake and demand the two step aside and stop wasting time!
As for the international community if the people of Zimbabwe want to see crabs dancing; they will only step in to help when we have shown the world we are serious about finding answers to our problems. Staging a crab dance will only say that we are not serious!
@ Mukanya
GNU markII will appeal to both MDC and Zanu PF even if it fails to delivery economic recovery because it will get the former back on the gravy train after a year out in the cold. Mugabe will have someone else to blame for the economic meltdown, at least for a short period.
There is a growing voice saying both Zanu PF and MDC are failures and they must go; a worsening economic situation under GNU mark II will amplify that voice. Mugabe will be hoping that GNU mark II would have existed for three or four years and so he can hold fresh elections and see what comes next. He might even be died and so he would have managed to live out his wish of live-president!
One thing is certain though every day, week and month that goes by without doing something to end this economic meltdown means makes the economic recovery that much harder. The situation will be even worse if the ticking health or/and social time bombs were to blow up in our faces!