Taurai Masamba
As the 2023 harmonised general elections draw near, the leadership crisis in the opposition outfit, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) continues to worsen with members and watchers increasingly losing confidence in the party’s leader, Nelson Chamisa.
Even those who supported Chamisa during the 2018 election season in vain and misplaced hope of using him to settle baseless political scores against President Emmerson Mnangagwa, such as G40 kingpin and self-exiled former Cabinet Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo, have become disenchanted with the opposition leader. The former Minister of Information’s ally, Edmund Kudzayi confessed this year that Prof Moyo and another G40 kingpin, Patrick Zhuwao mobilised financial resources in 2018 to bankroll Chamisa’s campaign.
Prof Moyo continues to point out Chamisa’s leadership deficit with the recent US$40 000 housing loans for legislators becoming his latest rallying point.
“After all is said and done regarding the saga of the USD 40,000 loan to Members of Parliament, it is quite clear that CCC MPs need a leader with the stature and capacity to engage with them directly, substantively and meaningfully, not through Twitter or video selfies!” Prof Moyo posted on his Twitter page yesterday.
Chamisa is also locked in a bitter feud with CCC legislators such as Chalton Hwende, Tendai Biti and others over their acceptance of Government housing loans which he said they should not as a gesture of prioritising the welfare of the ordinary Zimbabwean. This is despite the fact that during his tenure as a Cabinet Minister and Parliamentarian from 2009 to 2013, he enjoyed every benefit that was due to him.
Last month, pro-opposition online publication, NewZimbabwe.com reported that some of Chamisa’s unnamed lieutenants expressed dismay over Chamisa’s dictatorial tendencies and his disregard for advice and constructive criticism. They feared that if Chamisa continued on his current trajectory, the party will fare very badly in next year’s watershed polls.
“The opposition will not win if Chamisa continues like this, that I can assure you,” a senior CCC member told the publication on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from members of Chamisa’s inner circle.
Even Government critic and journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono who has been rallying Zimbabweans to support Chamisa and his party for the past two years has given up on the opposition leader’s poor leadership and accepted the spectre of another Chamisa defeat at the hands of ZANU PF.
The results of the local authority by-election that were held over the weekend in Binga, Gweru and Mberengwa have cast a spotlight on the beleaguered CCC leader’s very slim chances of winning next year’s polls.
“The Gweru and Mberengwa 81/726 by-election results are a serious cause for concern for the opposition CCC. (The) CCC got 643 votes in Gweru and ZANU PF got 300 votes in a CCC stronghold. ZANU PF narrowed the urban gap and crashed CCC in rural Mberengwa where it got 726 votes against CCC’s 81 votes,” Chin’ono tweeted.
“If these results were replicated in 2023, it will be a heartbreak for the opposition. Something is not working (and) it needs to be fixed urgently,” commented a panic-stricken and dejected Chin’ono.
