Smile MDC smile.... but will Morgan deliver immediately???

by Tambanavo Chamanyawi (chamanyawi@gmail.com)

The all-time powerful and popular Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) shall be joining the inclusive government with an ambitious resolve to deliver and turn around the moribund Zimbabwe government.

And also to put paid to their claim that they can run the country better than Zanu PF.

The party would try to excel in the ministries allocated to them.

Buoyed by the undisputed proletariat support, MDC Chief, Morgan Tsvangirai shall be at the helm the government soon, with the intention to redeem Zimbabweans from all the economic and political ills visited upon them by the 29 year old administration of Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF.

A huge gloomy spot is however threatening to shutter delivery by the inclusive government. There are very limited rays of hope at the end of Tsvangirai's tunnel.
Although the MDC boss is geared to exhibit excellence, but a heavily depleted source of qualified human resources is poised to cut his success story short.

Since its formation MDC dedicated all energy on the political front at the expense of grooming technocrats, who are much needed now to run the administrative and implementation arms of the government. Few known MDC technocrats were sucked into Parliament and Senate, reducing them into point scoring politicians.

Unlike other political parties, MDC did very little effort (if there was any) to prepare itself to run the country. The party neither came with scholarship schemes to boost its human resource base nor identified nor nurtured individuals for key strategic portfolios in government. During the Chimurenga Struggle, Zanu PF's Dzingai Mutumbuka led an ambitious scholarship scheme which saw most of the young activists sent to universities across the world. The majority of the scholarship beneficiaries got university education in Sierra Leone, UK, Uganda's Makerere University, Nigeria's Ibandan University and South Africa's Fort Hare University. Zanu PF's permanent secretaries are an erudite lot that spent time in universities. Their acquaintance with how things should be run is cushioning the political plunders being committed by their political masters.

The same can be said about ANC's long fight against the apartheid government. Most of the ANC cadres occupying key government positions today were groomed during the liberation struggle in preparation for running the country. This includes former president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki. The ANC's director generals serving in government departments are academically affluent.

The same cannot be said about MDC, a party which came into life10 years ago with all indications that it would be in government soon.

The party is still not well equipped in terms of human skills to take us out of 'Egypt' just as it was 10 years ago.

Can anyone think of anybody from the MDC who would be appointed minister of Finance or, the Reserve Bank Governor of Zimbabwe? Roy Bennet? What does he know about monetary issues? For all his life, Pachedu, as he is affectionately known by his colleagues, has been running his family farm in Chamanimani. The only veneer he has about finance relates to the current Treasurer position he occupies in MDC. Apart from that there is completely nothing, zero, zilch and nil. Of course people can always learn through the passage of time, but does MDC have thesumptuousness of time on their side?

Then there is Tapiwa Mashakada, a former trade union economist. Though well read, but the man has been a sloganeering populist for too long. Eddy Cross? May-be.
What about Agriculture, Tourism, Media related departments and Industry and Commerce? Are there individuals we can think of who MDC can entrust with running the above named portfolios. This is a very tricky period because MDC does not have the luxury of trial and error, like what Zanu PF had in 1980, but has to deliver forthwith. Their level of delivery would largely depend on the quality of their human resources.

If they fail to deliver immediately they can easily be rubbished as worse than Zanu PF.

We are entering an interesting period in the history of Zimbabwe. Some appointments will be shocking. Blunders are sure to manifest right in the nerve-centre of MDC's delivery machinery.


An attention-grabbing scenario is likely to emerge. MDC might find itself re-cycling the same senior personnel who served in the Zanu PF government. There is also a very likelihood that the government might also out source human resources, like what Zanu PF did in the 1980s. This is not to say we have run out of qualified personnel, but some of the people who are eligible might not be prepared to abandon their current occupations to come and serve in a shaky inclusive government which can collapse at anytime.

Also some of the skilled characters might not be MDC-enough to be entrusted with sensitive and senior government posts in ministries run by MDC. What is there to gain anywhere in the civil service of the inclusive government? Others may ask.
Can anybody imagine that from next week, Tsvangirai would be surrounded by members CIO's branch five, as his official body-guards? The same can be said about Thokozane Khupe and Authur Mutambara, Tsvangirai's two deputies. Yes! It's true. Imagine! Why such a frightening arrangement, which seem to confirm that MDC will be gulped by Zanu PF as what happened to PF Zanu in 1987? Is it because MDC does not have trained body-guards or intelligence officers?

MDC should also deploy some of its cadres into the media industry to cushion it from blistering and stinging media headlines. One can however say, the media should be out of bounds for politicians and political parties. A sound academic argument, I suppose, but which have always eluded Zimbabwe. Most if not all editors in Zimbabwe, running government papers are known Zanu PF pharisees, who never pretended to be impartial.

These include, the late Charles Chikerema of The Herald, Tommy Sithole of The Herald, Henry Muradzikwa of Ziana and later ZBH where hwas disgracefully kicked out by his Zanu PF colleagues, Stephen Mpofu of the Chronicle. Even the celebrated Geoff Nyarota was deployed from the President Cannan Banana's office to Manica Post before being transferred to Chronicle in Bulawayo, where he roared into fame after publishing the Willowgate scandal stories .

The question now is, does MDC have this kind of human resources? May-be Nyarota is available again to play this part for MDC.

Coupled with obvious lack of experience, expertise and patronage MDC might soon find itself answering the identical accusations being currently thrown at Zanu PF. Obvious services delivery complaints and not abduction and murder accusations.
Hundreds of authentic cadres who took 'bullets' on behalf of MDC are perceptibly not prepared to be left out in the transitional government on the basis of lack of skills.

The respected MDC brand is destined to come out of the transitional government heavily tainted and compromised to give Zanu PF the envisaged final fatal knock-out punch in the next elections. Let's wait and record the history of Zimbabwe as it unfolds right in our view.

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"Zimbabwe: the deal for Government of National Unity a fraud, Call for support from Zimbabwe"

The Zimbabwe main opposition, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has entered into agreement for Unity government with Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF regime. The Unity government is going to be formed from 11 to 13 February 2008.

While the MDC and ZANU PF discuss about UNITY government thousands of human rights activists, political dissenters, and MDC supporters are in jails for exercising their freedom of speech. Hundreds are still being tortured and murdered by Police, Soldiers, CIO and War Veterans.

If the Unity government works, good luck MDC. Many Zimbabweans consider unity government as a fraud and betrayal. It means the MDC has capitulated. At grassroots level Zimbabweans don't want unity government or that corrupt, murderous ZANU PF official continue to rule. Thousands of Zimbabweans have been tortured and murdered because of their support to the MDC.

What is imperatively needed in Zimbabwe is removal of both Mugabe and his illegitimate ZANU PF government. ZANU PF is a criminal enterprise responsible for massive corruption, genocide and deliberate starvation of Zimbabweans.

At this juncture Zimbabwe needs justice. Justice means protection of suffering Zimbabweans and punishment of ZANU PF officials for corruption, genocide, torture and murder of innocent people. ZANU PF militias and the so-called War Veterans must be brought before the courts for widespread murder, rape, mutilating, torture, robbing, theft, looting and vandalism.

Unity government will save to protect ZANU PF criminals. ZANU PF officials should be held accountable for all these crimes against humanity which started as early as 1983. ZANU PF was corrupt, murderous and oppressive from its beginning.
Unity government if it succeeds it means betrayal of the Zimbabweans by MDC politicians. Without justice and elimination of corruption Zimbabwe will not heal. ZANU PF politicians are corrupt and cannot be trusted with public funds. Even in unity with MDC they will still continue with the culture of corruption, bureaucracy and human rights abuse.

The MDC has been telling Zimbabweans and the world that ZANU PF is guilty of corruption and crimes against humanity. Now they want to join these bunches of criminals and corrupt official in this called unity government. Surely millions of Zimbabweans who have fled persecutions, murder, torture and oppression have no hope of returning home in the near future.
Zimbabwe unity government will be illegitimate and a mockery of justice. The European Union, America, Britain and other countries must refuse to recognise such travesty of justice. Any deal that leaves Mugabe in power or ZANU PF officials in control must not be recognised. Mugabe has lost presidential elections. By fraud, manipulation, propaganda and oppression he is still in power.

Calls to the UN Security Council should continue. The Zimbabwean humanitarian crisis must not be left in the hands of SADC or African Union (AU). Majority of SADC and AU leaders are dictators and corrupt to their own people. President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) has labelled the AU a Trade Union of criminals. These regional organisations and the ruling ANC government in South Africa will use every means to prevent the government that won elections to come to power in Zimbabwe. ANC is trying all dirty tricks to keep Mugabe'ZANU PF in power.

There is so much suffering in Zimbabwe. Thousands of people are dying every week in Zimbabwe. Now cholera has killed 3000. Please help us to stop this massive suffering in Zimbabwe. Put Zimbabwe on your prayer list. Write to your political leaders encouraging them to support us in our quest for freedom, liberation, and human rights.

Collen Makumbirofa

Foundation of Reason & Justice


www.zimbabwehope.org

http://forjustice.atspace.org

www.zimjustice.blogspot.com

Email: makumbirofa@gmail.com