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MORGAN TSVANGIRAI

Bernard Bwoni Correspondent
Many people might not be aware of it but the opposition MDC-T party recently held its elective, or is it selective, congress where Morgan Tsvangirai charged without conviction that, “We will mobilise and galvanise the nation for the end-game”.

What is it about Tsvangirai’s preoccupation with ‘endgames’, ‘game-changers’ and ‘deep-ends’?

This is grasping at straws by a man and a party with no game, guile or guts, a man whose game ended a long time ago, that is, if there was ever any game.

This is a man who fronts an increasingly irrelevant and disintegrating grouping that has got no game to play, let alone change.

As Tsvangirai rightly predicted in his book, the only way for the opposition is a slow but sure descent into the deep end, never to come back up.

Right now all the games are happening on the ruling party court with the opposition as mere spectators, gazing in awe at the intra-party democracy and reconfiguration.

The picture of Tsvangirai, Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti and other MDC-T party leadership tripping over each other to read the zanu-pf manifesto just before the 2013 elections is telling and clearly illustrates the political voyeuristic disorder that we continue to see in this party.

And Tsvangirai could not resist ‘borrowing’ from zanu-pf, as always, during his address at this elective congress, saying ‘the solution to the national crisis lies in none but ourselves’.

None-But-Ourselves (Iwe Neni Tine Basa — Mina Lawe Silo Musebenzi) is the zanu-pf ideology and it is clear as crystal that MDC-T idolises zanu-pf hence the tantrums about leading demonstrations to ‘force President Mugabe to accept the need for reforms’.

This is the same Tsvangirai who during his five years in the GNU enjoyed tea with President Mugabe and the only reforms he called for were matrimonial ones. The only game Tsvangirai changed during his time as Prime Minister was scoring own-goals. Nothing personal against Tsvangirai but the trail is there for all to see.

The fact that the opposition had this elective congress and very few people knew about it or couldn’t care less, is a telling sign of party with no game to play or change or end-game.

Even the MDC-T party itself was not very much interested in its own congress as the leadership preoccupied themselves with analysing and admiring the zanu-pf internal politics and so-called succession battles.

The only game in Zimbabwean politics right now is found in the ruling party where self-introspection, self-analysis and self-reconstruction are at play.

The opposition can only wish for the ruling party to implode but what we are witnessing in zanu-pf is intra-party politics of uninterrupted self-reflection and growth, a party Constitution that works efficiently to draw the line, bring cadres back in line and carry the party forwards, not backwards or side-ways, not splitting or splintering.

In his address, Tsvangirai stressed that ‘the protests will force Robert Mugabe to the negotiating table and build consensus on the need for a timetable towards a free and fair election’.

What is evidently clear from this statement is that Tsvangirai is looking for a short-cut to another GNU and he is enlisting the masses to shoulder his quest for and pursuit of the petal-littered path towards the trappings and luxuries previously presented to him when he was Prime Minister.

The only end-game etched in the opposition minds right now is a return to the GNU and that is why they are not presenting any shadow strategy but rather are looking for negotiations into government.

The elections have been, over and done with and the opposition ought to start presenting their own proposals to counter what the ruling currently has to offer.

Let us not confuse this relentless quest for splendour and grandeur in the upper echelons of power with championing and leading demonstrations for so-called ‘constitutional reforms’.

Tsvangirai had five years to push these ‘constitutional reforms’ and he did nothing.

Salavitating over the current ruckus in zanu-pf will not help him, either.

There is only one united zanu-pf, one united Zimbabwe that will prevail at the end of it all.

There is indeed an invisible hand in all attempts to foil and misdirect Zimbabwe’s path toward real prosperity, real wealth and economic emancipation of her citizens.

The many principled men and women in the mould of President Mugabe who are the real drivers of the African Renaissance have that difficult but essential task of addressing and redressing the inequalities created by the colonial system and empowering the indigenous people of Zimbabwe.

President Robert Mugabe is an inspiration and even the new British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Ms Catriona Laing rightly described him as ‘iconic’.

President Mugabe is an icon yes, not an object of aesthetics, but substance.

He is the glue that binds the nation and the history that will inspire future generations. It is up to the people of Zimbabwe to define who their real heroes are and no amount of modification or moderation is going to change that.

The only game left to change is to forge ahead with the economic emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe.

Another GNU as being advocated by Tsvangirai and his party is all games.