HARARE In a bizarre explanation of Zimbabwes troubled political transition war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda has accused Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of chickening out of the 2008 presidential second round election only to turn around and grab power from President Robert Mugabe through the global political agr
Sibanda told journalists during a panel discussion at the national press club The Quill last Wednesday evening that Tsvangirai whose presence in the unity government is analysts credited for the economic stability the country has enjoyed — was more concerned with enjoying power while abandoning the responsibilities that came with his position. ??They are in power sharing, not responsibility sharing, said Sibanda. Zanu (PF) succumbed to the pressure of the power sharing talks. The question is whose power is being shared.??
Sibanda said Zimbabwe risked plunging into another Israel, which, according to him, does not have stable governments because they are mostly coalitions that disintegrate in the middle of their terms. We cannot have that scenario in our country because for a country to develop, it must have a permanent government and a permanent? government comes as a result of an election,? said Sibanda. Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a first round presidential vote in March 2008 and analysts had tipped him to clinch the decisive second round ballot but the then opposition leader withdrew from the poll citing state sponsored violence against his supporters.
At least 200 supporters of Tsvangirais MDC party are believed to have died while no less than 10 000 were said to have been displaced in the violence in the run up to the June 2008 run-off poll won by Mugabe as sole candidate after the forced withdrawal of his challenger. But Sibanda denied that there was any violence during the time saying there were only isolated incidents of violence which were not enough to? derail an electoral process.?? The controversial war veterans leader also criticised Finance Minister Tendai Biti for allegedly refusing to fund the countrys agricultural sector. ?? He said Biti, a key member of Tsvangirais MDC party, was deliberately under-nourishing Zimbabwes land reform programme to create false impressions blacks were not capable of producing in the farms.?
This he said would be reflected in a pending land audit by Zimbabwes unity government, creating a logical ground for white former commercial farmers to buy back the land.?? But, again, Sibandas theory on agriculture just as his claims that Tsvangirai grabbed power from Mugabe is far removed from reality because land reforms flopped well before formation of the unity government and chiefly because of the chaos, violence, corruption and racism that characterized the farm redistribution programme.
Post published in: News