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Morgan Tsvangirai

Benny Tsododo
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s visit to Germany last week and his other previous visits to the West as part of his so-called diplomatic offensive raise questions on the actual purpose of the visits and their supposed benefit to the country.Although it cannot be debated that MDC-T is an offspring of the West and therefore its leader is naturally entitled to regularly go and pay regular tribute to his masters, what is suspicious about the latest “diplomatic offensive” is that it comes at a time the MDC-T leader had made an ominous threat to escalate the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

During May Day celebrations at Gwanzura Stadium, Tsvangirai was quoted making an apocalyptic threat saying, “I want to say before the crisis ends, we want to escalate it so that we find a solution to it.”

The threat to escalate an economic crisis that is presently obliterating industries and callously depriving people of employment opportunities is reminiscent of previous MDC-T/Western plot to make Zimbabwe’s economy “scream”.

It can be easily recalled that after threats by the West to make Zimbabwe’s economy scream over a decade ago, the country was subsequently slapped with a medley of economic embargoes accompanied by vigorous global media campaigns to alienate the country, which have all led to the devastation of the country’s economy.

Prior to the imposition of the sanctions, Tsvangirai had passionately appealed to the world to cut economic ties with Zimbabwe.

He was captured on television heartlessly calling for South Africa to cut its electricity supplies to Zimbabwe and also close its borders with its northern neighbour.

So, the cycle of events unfolding after Tsvangirai made his pledge to exacerbate the current economic crisis are manifestly reminiscent of his previous efforts to make the economy ‘scream’.

History is repeating itself at a different epoch in Zimbabwe.

Coming immediately after he issued his portentous May Day threat, Tsvangirai’s latest ‘diplomatic offensive’ could therefore be seen as part of his greater scheme to aggravate the country’s already precarious economic situation.

These ‘diplomatic offensives’ are a cover to camouflage intricate strategic meetings to operationalise plans to push the economy to the brink of collapse.

Deliberations and outcomes during such visits have remained secretive and without feedback.

So far this year, Tsvangirai has been to the United States for another ‘diplomatic offensive’ meeting ‘high ranking officials’ in that country, yet nothing was reported on the outcome of the visit.

The fact that deliberations during the visits are shrouded in secrecy would definitively feed into our fears that Tsvangirai could be in motions of operationalising his plans to escalate the country’s economic crisis.

If his visits were being made in good faith and intended to benefit the people of Zimbabwe why impose a blackout on their outcomes?

Despite claiming that his party is in good books with western foreign investors, Tsvangirai has failed to bring back a single economic deal from his touted meetings with ‘senior government officials’ in countries he has visited so far.

This became more revealing during his stint in the Inclusive Government where he apparently failed to invite any of his supposed foreign investor friends to inject capital into the country.

In contrast, it is known that each time President Mugabe engages other foreign countries; he would announce the outcome of his meetings, particularly highlighting the benefits arising to the people of Zimbabwe.

Already there is talk that the President’s visit to Russia could see him holding talks with that country’s President Vladimir Putin that might facilitate the operationalisation of the $4 billion platinum deal between the two countries.

This is how it should be. Leaders should seek better opportunities for their people and not invite calamities designed to selfishly leapfrog them into power.

It is worrying, therefore, that while President Mugabe goes out to seek economic opportunities for the country; Tsvangirai is busy coordinating efforts to torpedo such deals through horrendous plots to further poison the economy.

With the probability high that Tsvangirai is making the foreign visits to coordinate his plot to escalate the economic crisis in the country, it could be high time the country’s legislators consider coming up with laws that make it an offence for citizens to invite sanctions or other restrictions against the country.

Guided by the above submissions, Tsvangirai’s so-called diplomatic offensives to Western capitals could actually be unmasked as diplomatic offences that are behind the current economic challenges facing the country.