MDC-A’s role in undermining national development
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa continues to pursue an ambitious economic reform agenda that has, within a short space of time, seen the budget deficit being tamed, economic fundamentals once again in place and a clear trajectory towards an upper middle income economic status by 2030.
However, the MDC Alliance’s (MDC-A) anti-Government antics are an attempt to undermine Government efforts to court international investors through engagement and re-engagement.
The MDC-A has been continuously calling for economic sanctions against the country.
The MDC-A leader, Nelson Chamisa, has distinguished himself as a problem that enjoys selfishly abusing the democratic space at the expense of the general populace and the development of the country.
It is important that the nation at large takes note of the role of the MDC-A, especially the role of Chamisa, in trying to cause instability and fomenting chaos in Zimbabwe.
The MDC-A’s negative contribution emanates from the party’s undemocratic conduct and its tendency to pay lip service to what democracy entails.
Democracy is a game of rules; and the rules also apply to elections.
Throughout the life of the MDC-A, the party has failed to accept the fact that in a democratic election, some win and others lose.
The loser is compelled to play the game better next time. The rejection of election outcomes has characterised the entire history of the MDC.
The party has repeatedly rejected election results where it has lost fairly.
It rejected the 2000 Parliamentary Elections, 2002 Presidential election, 2005 Parliamentary Elections and the 2008, 2013 and 2018 Harmonised Elections.
The MDC has also failed to acknowledge the endorsement of the 2018 Harmonised elections by various international observer missions.
A number of these observer missions declared the July 30, 2018 election day peaceful and only deplored the post-election violence instigated by the MDC-A, which left six people dead and several others injured.
In each election, the MDC-A focuses on a noisy narrative about rigged polls.
Despite the peaceful campaign prior to the 2018 elections, with a level playing field for everyone, the MDC-A went on to threaten violence which the party said would accompany any election outcome that did not constitute a victory for them.
As the 2018 Harmonised elections took a steady shape on a new trajectory of non-violence, Chamisa took to violent and foulmouthed politics.
He declared that no one except him should win the election and any other result was unacceptable.
Chamisa also declared, before the polls, that he should be the only winner, failure of which he would render the country ungovernable.
His propensity for political show-boating through demonstrations is self-serving.
Threats of violence if the elections did not go the MDC-A way were the order of their campaign messages, “we have the numbers and we can close down Harare . . . We will not let the election happen if we do not agree on crucial issues”.
Other members of the party spelt out their intentions. The then MDC-A youth chairperson, Happymore Chidziva, said “we will make the country ungovernable” unless their demands were met.
In other words, if the MDC-A did not get their way at the ballot box, they would use other means. Chamisa highlighted this point at almost every campaign rally.
There are more examples of some of the threats that the MDC-A made.
While addressing an MDC-A rally at Jerera Growth Point in Zaka, Masvingo, on April 14, 2018, Chamisa threatened that “we will bring into the streets guys from Mbare Musika who are ready for violence”.
He further stated that he was “ready to take power either through votes or by any other means”.
In another incident at a campaign rally at Chemhanza grounds in Mabvuku-Tafara on June 26, 2018, Tendai Biti (then national vice chairman of the MDC-A) said that “the Alliance would not accept election results if Zanu PF was the winner”.
During an interview with First TV on July 13, 2018, Biti was quoted as saying “if they cheat us they will have to kill us on the streets”.
The Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 2018 post-election violence highlighted that: “There was indeed overwhelming video evidence as well evidence from institutions which presented submissions to the commission that show that MDC-A leadership made inflammatory statements in its campaign rallies and also at several press conferences, inciting violence . . . During the pre-election rallies, the MDC-A had taken a position that if their Presidential candidate did not win the election, they would protest”.
The violent character of MDC-A was further noted by the Motlanthe Commission, which concluded that: “The protests were pre-planned and well organised as shown, for example, by the evidence of the pre-election speeches of the MDC-A leaders and the evidence of all of the events that took place on the 1st of August 2018, including the fact that groups arrived with an assortment of objects such as containers of stones, bricks, logs, and posters, which they used in their demonstrations.”
After the MDC-A lost the 2018 elections, they responded by rolling out their violent strategy in which the main plan was to attack the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Command Centre in a bid to capture power from the streets.
They wanted ZEC to merely perform the task of anointing them, whatever the actual polling results.
But when ZEC refused to play ball, all hell broke loose against ZEC chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba.
She was assailed and emotionally abused for refusing to declare the MDC-A winners of an election they had lost.
Justice Chigumba and her Commission must be congratulated for their courage to defy all the pressure, threats and intimidation that were stacked against them by the MDC-A.
From the advent of the New Dispensation in 2017, MDC narratives postulated that “ED can never win an election in Zimbabwe.”
However, when the MDC-A was in danger of being embarrassed as all credible polls pointed to a President Mnangagwa victory, the narrative was adjusted to “ED can win only by corrupting the ZEC”.
On this assumption, the MDC-A put most of their resources into defaming ZEC in a vain attempt to de-legitimise the elections.
Voters vindicated ZEC’s professionalism by voting peacefully, voting for Zanu PF and President Mnangagwa.
The MDC-A then opted for the strategy of invading ZEC’s National Command Centre itself to physically assault the centre and to make the final tallying of votes impossible.
When the physical assault failed and ZEC announced the votes on time, the MDC-A rejected the results.
They also rejected the authority of ZEC to pronounce “an acceptable result.” Sadly, some lives were lost in the process. When MDC-A’s violent take-over of power plot failed, the party then pursued a Constitutional Court challenge.
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VASHANDI vepadare reChitungwiza Magistrate’s Courts pamwe nevanhu vanouya kuzotongwa mhosva dzavo vanoti vari panguva yakaoma zvichitevera kushaikwa kwemvura panzvimbo iyi izvo zvinogona kuisa upenyu hwavo panyatwa yechirwere cheCovid-19.
Kwayedza yakashanyira nzvimbo iyi svondo rino ikaona kuti zvimbuzi zvepo zvakatovharwa uye vanhu vaisatenderwa kupindamo sezvo zvisina mvura.
Vamwe vanhu vainge vakamiririra kupinda mudare vaitosarudza kuzvibatsira vakahwanda nemadziro emudhuri weDistrict Development Fund (DDF) uri pedyo nepanomiswa motokari nevanouya padare iri.
“Ini ndatobatsirwa nemotokari dzakapakwa apa saka ndangofuratira ndokuzvibatsira pamudhuri uyu nekuti zvakaoma kumira kwemaawa akawanda usina kwekuzvibatsira. Madzimai ndiwo ari panguva yakaoma nekuti hazvina kuvarerukira kuzvibatsirira pachena sezvatinoita isu varume.
“Hazvidi kuti dare redzimhosva rinosvikira vanhu vakasiyana rishaye zvimbuzi, zvikuru munguva ino yeCovid-19 nekuti maoko anenge achifanira kugezwa,” vanodaro VaMoses Muripo (40) vainge vakamirira kupinda mudare iri.
Vamwewo ndivo vaienda kunobhadhara mari yekuti vakwanise kupinda muzvimbuzi zvekanzuru zviri chinhabwe paMakoni Shopping Centre.
“Hameno kuti vari kuzvifambisa sei vanhu padare iri. Pafungei mazita edu anogona kudanwa isu taenda kumutsetse wechimbuzi uko tonzi tarovha kudare. Ngavaite ‘serious’ mhani! Vanotoita sekunge vasingazivi kuti kune Covid-19,” anodaro mumwe mudzimai akazviti Mai Spiwe apo aifambisa akananga kuchimbuzi.
Vamwe vashandi vepadare iri, avo vakakumbira kuti vasadomwe nemazita avo, vanoti vanotanga basa kuma7 mangwanani vachipedza na5pm nekudaro vari panguva yakaoma.
“Hapana yekutamba, kutobva tazvisota kudzimba nekuti kutaura chokwadi sezvawaona pano hapana zvimbuzi. Zviri kunzi chibhorani chakafa pombi dzinodhonza mvura ukuwo mvura yekanzuru hatina. Handione hangu zvichiita kuti tishande panzvimbo yakadai asi semushandi, hapana zvekuzviita. Tiri panyatwa munguva ino yeCovid-19, apa tichibata madhoketi ayo anobatwawo nevanhu vakawanda,” anodaro.
Dr Tonderai Kasu, avo vafanobata chigaro chemunyori mukuru wekanzuru yeChitungwiza, svondo rapera vakavimbisa kuti vachatuma mainjiniya (engineer) avo kunoona mamiriro ezvinhu padare iri.
“Tiri kutarisira kuti vachange vava nemvura nemusi weMugovera (wadarika) nekuti takatumira mainjiniya edu kuti vanoona kuti tingabatsirane sei,” vanodaro.
Zvisinei, nemusi weMuvhuro uno, Kwayedza yakashanyira dare iri ikaona dambudziko remvura richiripo uye zvimbuzi zvichakavharwa.
Mukushi wemashoko kuJudicial Service Commission (JSC), Rumbidzai Takawira anoti haasati awaniswa mhinduro nevakuru vake pamusoro penyaya iyi.
“Ndine hurombo, handisati ndawaniswa mhinduro nevakuru asi kana vakangopindura mibvunzo yako ndinokutumira. Iko zvino ndiri kure kuTsholotsho uye masaisai enhare ari kunetsa kubata zvakanaka,” anodaro.