Is Mphoko’s defiance deep rooted?

Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko

The public and main opposition MDC have strongly condemned Mphoko’s continued hotel occupancy but like second graders who are in defiance and subtly refuse to go along with what the whole class is doing, Mphoko and wife Laurinda have refused to accept two presidential houses in the range of $3 million to $3,5 million acquired for them by the government and as declared by Laurinda his wife, they were not good enough for someone of the Vice President’s stature. When children are defiant, their objective is basically not to frustrate, disrespect or annoy but in a lot of cases it is to feel significant. So like children, could Mphoko’s defiance be an attempt to feel significant which may have easily got him enmeshed in power struggles. So, could it be that Mphoko could be displaying this defiance as way of trying to prove who exactly is the boss. After all, his and Vice President Munangagwa’s superiority was publicly deprecated by the First Lady Amai Mugabe last year at a rally in Mushayavanhu High School in Gutu when she declared that although she has respect for the two Vice Presidents they were not in any way senior to her. Just as Mphoko was openly belittled as the Vice President, could this open and public defiance be a way of getting back at powers that be, after all, Dr Amai Mugabe is the one who is in charge now, and so Mphoko is showing who actually is more superior.

Or maybe this defiance if we look at it closely could have stemmed from the way in which Mphoko was appointed to the post of Vice President, after all, he is said to have met with the President Mugabe several months before the appointment to make a claim to this post on the basis that he was more senior than other aspirants such as Simon Khaya Moyo. As a result, Mphoko’s defiance could be a way of showing that although he could have coerced and wriggled himself to be appointed to the post of Vice President, he however does not have a spaghetti spine. This defiance could be a way of showing that he has a spine of steel and is no push over and that no one can give him marching orders. If people still cannot show him respect as the Vice President, then they will get to accept and respect him as the Vice President through such defiance. This hilariously is similar to the sixth Mafia commandment which is “Appointments must absolutely be respected”.

Suppose Mphoko has made his point loud and clear that he is no weakling by this continued hotel occupancy, however, this has gone beyond being funny, Mr Vice President. As a matter of principle this is turning out to be an abuse of power and tax payers’ money. Surely for a country grappling financially can we afford such frivolity. The government would be expected to be wise to recognise such misuse of government capital, but we are talking about the Zanu PF government here where nothing sensible comes out of it. How can President Mugabe order Mphoko to move out of the hotel when he is just as guilty, his foreign travels are gobbling millions of tax payers’ money.  In a statement by the MDC-T recently, it was quoted that “Robert Mugabe has flown more hours than the average commercial airline pilot in the world” and the MDC-T went on to condemn the “reckless and selfish wastage of limited state funds on these useless foreign jamborees”.

The whole scenario stinks and is in serious need of a new breed of leadership the likes of Tanzania’s President Magufuli who has worked hard to curb wastage in his own government. But again, rather than learn from him, the Zanu PF bigwigs are on a plundering and looting spree grabbing whatever is left of the gravy train with no consideration whatsoever for the masses that voted them into power. This is just not right.