OpenParly recently held an online debate on the Patriotic Bill which featured ZANU PF Chief Whip, Pupurai Togarepi facing off with MDCA’s Daniel Molekele, as they presented perceptions of their respective political parties on the legislative piece.
The political contestation between ZANU PF and MDC-A is certainly no news, but as the tussling rages on; one gets to see the broader picture of who really represent the interests of the majority of Zimbabweans.
Traditionally, the MDC-A is accustomed to celebrating the shortcomings or rather the alleged missteps of ZANU PF in a bid to build on a narrative that the revolutionary Party has failed the nation. However, common as they are; mistakes happen and people know that this is a fact of life. But the habit of making noise at every move by ZANU PF has certainly worked against the opposition this time around.
The MDC-A unwittingly confessed that they are indeed merchants of doom in Zimbabwe. The Patriotic Bill simply deters individuals and corporates from wilful invitation harm on Zimbabwe. For the opposition to negate such a simple and noble cause betrays their shenanigans, which they have disowned in the past, preferring instead to blame ZANU PF for mismanaging the economy.
Surprisingly, the US has the same legislative piece, but it is also at the forefront of sponsoring the local opposition to reject and mobilise against the Bill. Will there ever be another perfect example of divide and rule by the US that would beat this latest interference in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs?
The question that follows from the above observation would be whose interests is the MDC-A really serving? It doesn’t need an astronaut to elaborate that the grand plan here is to serve the interests of the US in getting back at Zimbabwe for Government’s Land Reform Programme. The MDC-A came out from the debate as a tool with which the US seeks vengeance on Zimbabwe’s Government.
With the legislative piece (Patriotic Act) in place to prosecute those who wish harm on Zimbabwe, MDC-A loses relevance drastically and the US loses its arsenal against Zimbabwe.
Of late the MDC-A has been slowly sinking into political oblivion as punctuated by the perennial defections to ZANU PF by senior members of that party and the recall of its parliamentarians from the august house. The way the chaos has been handled also leaves one with questions on the capability of that party’s leadership.
Areas where the MDC-A is supposed to be ensuring that the welfare of Zimbabweans is well taken care of, it is dismally failing.
The opposition movement is responsible for most urban councils in Zimbabwe, but there has not been any service delivery of any sort in their respective areas of operation. Raw sewage has become the order of the day, garbage remains uncollected and potholes are now permanent features on our roads.
Mutare Town Council recently made headlines for blowing ZWL$3 million in 72 hours during a conference. Chitungwiza Town Council is marred by double allocation of residential stands by MDC A councillors who MDC-A leader Nelson Chamisa failed to rein in despite numerous warnings.
It is this unabated disaster that shows the MDC-A is not at all concerned with the electorate’s interests. Theirs is to simply represent the interests of the West and get some pay-outs to fatten their pockets. There is no effort whatsoever to represent the interests of Zimbabweans.
Chamisa was recently grilled on Twitter over the state of the roads in most western suburbs of Harare. In his responses, he sought to blame Central Government for allegedly interfering with the operations of council. However, alert citizens were quick to question whether it was also Central Government that was directing them to buy top of the range luxury vehicles and awarding themselves obscene salaries at the expense of service delivery. Out of shame, Chamisa pulled down the tweet of an envisaged Smart City and a fresh beginning.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has however, urged residents of urban settlements to seriously consider their welfare by thinking along the lines of voting out corrupt officials from councils if they are to emancipate themselves from the daily confrontations of potholes, uncollected garbage and the gross sight of raw sewage flowing perennially in their neighbourhoods.
Against this background, one can clearly make the head and tail of the MDC-A’s existence. Their sole purpose is to push forward the interests of their handlers. It is also safe to conclude that their aim is to remain in the trenches of opposition without any interests of winning any polls in Zimbabwe. Certainly at this magnitude of ignoring the interests of the electorate they can never dream or hope to win any election in Zimbabwe.
The end game in all this is to really make Zimbabwe ungovernable at the behest and appeasement of the West who are still unhappy because the Zimbabwean Government took repossession of their land from the white commercial farmers.
After all is said and done, the debate on the Patriotic Bill has come in handy in exposing the dirty tactics of the MDC-A. Indeed, like the gross sight of the making of sausages, the legislative piece has put in the open the ugly side of Zimbabwean politics at the hands of economic saboteurs bend on cutting any efforts designed to better the lives of Zimbabweans in a bid to arm twist people into blaming Government and ZANU PF.
