Stop the madness, unite

Editorial Comment
THE Zimbabwean political landscape in the post 2013 era or is it error resembles something of a jungle with political parties being formed every other day

THE Zimbabwean political landscape in the post 2013 era or is it error resembles something of a jungle with political parties being formed every other day in boardrooms and bedrooms whilst existing political parties seem to be caught up in endless factionalism and leadership wrangles.

Lovemore Madhuku has transformed the National Constitutional Assembly into a fully fledged party and it remains to be seen what will become of his party. But the madness must end and people need to wise up and forge a united front if they are serious about mounting a serious challenge for the 2018 elections.

MDC-T The MDC–T on paper appears to offer the strongest resistance to Zanu PF if we are to base this on its electoral performance in the country’s last two plebiscites .Admittedly MDC–T like all the other opposition parties has emerged weaker after last year’s elections.

This has been amplified in the third tier of government namely local government where MDC–T has found itself the threshold of mass confusion in at least four local authorities which it should easily have controlled. In Gweru the party’s preferred candidate lost out and the incumbent mayor ,a son to the city’s first mayor the late Patrick Kombayi has refused to step down. In Victoria Falls there were accusations that some councillors were bribed by Zanu PF as a councillor from the former liberation party won in spite on the MDC-T’s dominance of local authority seats.

There were similarly alarming reports from Mutare as well as evidence of internal strife mounted. Whether or not state security agents had a hand in this fracas is another matter altogether but then the opposition needs to be on its guard against infiltration and opportunism at all times.

The scramble for the party’s presidency seems to be gaining currency with the likes of Engineer Mudzuri openly declaring their ambitions or the big one. One would argue though that there is nothing wrong with this as this is a sign of democracy. The Morgan Tsvangirai brand seems to have taken a serious knocking and the party has to seriously consider whether it will continue with the present leadership and strategy if it is to mount a serious challenge to Zanu PF and dislodge it from power. The

MDC-T appears to have the greatest potential of unseating Zanu PF, but Zimbabwean politics has changed so much that the party might find itself being irrelevant if it does not re brand ,restructure and re strategise.The party suffers from poor leadership a deficit of democratic credentials, ideological bankrupsy and lack of strategy. If it deals with these issues it stands a good chance in the next elections

MDC The MDC was severely affected by the 2013 results as the party failed to garner a single elected seat. This itself has undermined public confidence in the party and this has been accentuated by a spate of mass dismissals ,defections and resignations from the party.

This is spite of the fact that at an individual level the party boasts of talented and experienced politicians. They have failed to turn this into and advantage and if the party continues in its silent or discreet mode I could fade into total political oblivion. It is also surprising that the party is now so silent about its devolution agenda which it fought so hard or together with their colleagues from the MDC–T.

The MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube paid the ultimate price for arrogance in ignoring appeals for an electoral pact with the MDC–T and other parties even though they did go into an alliance with Zapu. The MDC needs to consider a new name, new leadership and strategy and re-engaging the MDC–T because it is quite clear that the two MDC formations are too weak to mount a challenge in the next elections due to voter fatigue, possible rigging and the advantages of incumbency which Zanu PF has.

Zapu My biggest fear with Zapu is the fact that some in its ranks may be considering rejoining Zanu PF.

This may be fatal mistake which may eternally blight the image and credibility of the party .They should not even consider rejoining with Zanu PF under any circumstances otherwise they would be taking people on a merry go round.

This party needs to merge with Ncube’s MDC and or realistically with MDC–T If it is to entertain any chance of gathering anything in the next elections .

The electoral behaviour of Zimbabweans is such that they don’t cote for quality candidates quantity mass politics with people preferring a political party which shows capacity either to remain in power or to dislodge the incumbents from power. This may be wrong logically, but politically this is the reality .

In conclusion I would like to urge all these political parties to form one political party if they are serious at all about mounting a serious challenge for the next elections. Voter fatigue because of lack of confidence in the electoral system will not help matters at all and the “Zanu PF rigged “mantra will also cause more apathy as people will not participate in an a process which they feel is predermined. If these political parties fail to swallow their pride for the sake of the country they should be removed wholesale from positions of leadership .Selfishness and complacency cost them in the last elections and selfishness will cost them again.

Mayibuye !

 Dumisani Nkomo is a political commentator and chief executive officer of the Habakkuk Trust. He writes in his personal capacity