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Benny Tsododo Correspondent
Current developments in the country’s body politic highlight how MDC-T and some civil society groups have resolved to pursue impatient politics of excluding voters from the process of selecting the Government of the day. Suggestions emanating from opposition political corridors expose a deliberate

ploy to undermine and circumvent the country’s electoral system and superimpose some extra-electoral measures devised to catapult non-elected anti-establishment forces into power.

In this regard, we have heard plans to establish the so-called National Convergence Platform (NCP), a grouping that is touted as a team of political and non-political actors who will immediately push to replace the ZANU-PF Government. The discourse to establish the NCP does not mention the electoral process or make any reference to it.

In fact, plans to establish the platform were manifestly to cut short the life of the current Government, to usurp its electoral mandate and undermine the electorates’ choice with a view to come up with a non-elected team of selected individuals to take over the reins of the country.

Also noted recently was the announcement by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CICZ) that it is unveiling its own economic blueprint to rival ZANU PF’s ZimAsset programme. CIZC Director Phillan Zamchiya claimed that ZANU-PF’s Zim-Asset had failed to transform the economy hence his organisation would introduce its own alternative blueprint titled Zimbabwe Social Marketing Agenda for Recovery and Transformation (ZimSmart), which he said would be tabled before Government for consideration as an alternative strategy to turn around the economy.

How the CIZC got the mandate to draw up an economic blueprint and force it on Government without being elected into power still boggles the mind. For what we know, the ZimSmart blueprint is purely a manifesto that should be tabled before the electorate, not to Government, during election time, for them to weigh it for its relevance, practicability and how it serves national interests.

Such a document cannot be railroaded into government without being subjected to the electoral process. For now, ZANU-PF’s manifesto, translated into Zim-Asset, is the only one that won the hearts of the voters who overwhelmingly voted the party into power in 2013.

The party, not some pseudo non-governmental organisations or opposition political parties, is the ruling party and has the uncontested mandate to prescribe policies for the country to improve its economic situation. Besides the CIZC’s anti-electoral efforts, we also have the MDC-T calling for SADC to unilaterally crown it into Government without taking the electoral route.

Addressing journalists in Bulawayo on August 26 2015, MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai said his party would soon dispatch a high powered delegation led by his deputy Thokozani Khupe to lobby SADC chairperson Ian Khama to meddle in Zimbabwe’s domestic affairs.

He was quoted saying, “We need to draw SADC back to discuss the crisis of Zimbabwe. It is their responsibility to tackle the issue. Zimbabwe cannot be allowed to collapse.” Why MDC-T would cowardly seek to continue riding on the coattails of the regional grouping in order to smuggle itself into power, while disregarding electoral platform availed for its convenience, is instructive of its cheap intent to circumvent the constitutional electoral route.

The mandate to elect a government in Zimbabwe is constitutionally reposed in Zimbabweans through regular and democratic elections. It is not the duty of SADC or any other organisation to enthrone any political party through non-electoral means.

Opposition political parties and their non-governmental organisation allies should not exclude voters in their bid to get into power. If MDC-T feels that ZANU PF is failing to run the country, it must simply package alternative policies, promote them among the electorate and further participate in elections to compete for power.

As for the supposedly non-political CIZC, it is better advised not to tender its unsolicited manifesto to Government but proffer it to its inimitably clueless MDC-T acolyte that desperately requires policy advice more than anyone else. ZANU-PF does not need any policy advice for it has unassailably proved time and again that it has the intellectual and ideological depth to introduce and implement relevant and well-timed economic policies.

The current Zim-Asset programme is what the economy needs and it is only a matter of time before the country to starts enjoying rich pickings from the economic blueprint. If the opposition thinks otherwise, it should be patient and wait for the 2018 general elections to proffer alternative policies for possible election into Government.