by Nobleman Runyanga
Last week will go down in the annals of the MDC-T Chamisa faction history as one of its worst weeks in office. It is the week that Zimbabwean billionaire and philanthropist, Strive Taputaira Masiyiwa spoke on the same side with ordinary Zimbabwe in denouncing the ongoing sanctions imposed on the country 18 years ago by the West.
Masiyiwa has been helping countless less privileged Zimbabweans silently in key areas such as education and health among others for years but this time around he emerged from his cocoon and spoke strongly against the punitive measures much to the chagrin of the “high and mighty” in the opposition camp such as the Kuwadzana legislator, Chalton Hwende and MDC-T Chamisa faction member, Patson Dzamara. Opposition adjuncts such as the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) and hangers-on in the person of its leader, Pedzisayi Ruhanya also bristled and seethed with “democratically-holy” anger against Masiyiwa.
The day Masiyiwa angered the opposition “gods”
In an interview with the CNBC Africa, he commented that sanctions should be removed as they were no longer necessary in view of a new dispensation which has demonstrated its commitment to re-engaging with the world.
“I think the sanctions should be removed because there is no justification for them anymore. I have always been on record to say the sanctions are not justified,” said Masiyiwa during the interview.
Masiyiwa’s sanctions comments were prefaced by his remarks on President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his government, the task ahead and Zimbabwe’s economic prospects.
“It is going to be extremely challenging. Anyone who understands economics knows that it’s going to be tough so I think Zimbabwe needs to be given a chance the day they (Zimbabweans) will stop politicking and focus on rebuilding this country,” said Masiyiwa.
“Mine adversaries shall be thine too”
A recall of the recent election season provides a background to the opposition’s anger. Despite being walloped in the ballot box and in Constitutional Court the MDC-T Chamisa faction leader, Nelson Chamisa is finding it very difficult to stand before the excitable and impressionable youths, who make the majority of his political outfit, and tell them that “Vakomana, takarohwa kuseri nekuseri sengoma yeZion neZANU PF (We were thoroughly drubbed by ZANU PF). Saka totongimirira 2023 (So we have to try again in 2023).”
Anyone, therefore, who speaks in favour of President Mnangagwa and ZANU PF becomes an MDC-T Chamisa faction enemy who should be the butt for its unrestrained political vitriol. Masiyiwa spoke his own constitutionally-provided opinion and the faction of excellence and the “personifications of democracy” therein were not amused. This is because in its books anyone who it regards as an enemy should be everyone’s enemy.
Masiyiwa is a businessperson and has no reason to regard President Mnangagwa as an enemy. He gave his opinion of President Mnangagwa’s administration so far which the faction erroneously interpreted as an endorsement of the President. Even if it was, well within Masiyiwa’s rights to do so. This exposed the self-proclaimed champions of democracy’s embarrassing political immaturity.
That Masiyiwa strove with the previous administration from 1996 to 1998 for an operating licence does not make him an enemy of Government or ZANU PF. Chamisa’s camp was also exposed to be political novices when it assumed that Masiyiwa was on their side. When the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC formation split, the resultant sub-faction that was later led by Professor Arthur Mutambara initially approached Masiyiwa to lead them but he refused opting, instead to concentrate on growing his business interests. If he refused to be part of a rag-tag opposition outfit then what would have the opposition done better to merit a change of heart this time around?
Ruhanya claimed that the so called “democracy contingent,” a euphemism for anti-Government activists on Western donors’ payroll, helped Masiyiwa’s cause by demonstrating against the Government of the day so that Econet Wireless could be licensed. Whether or not this happened is not any issue anymore twenty years on and should not be used to blackmail the billionaire into wading into politics on the side of the opposition against his better judgement.
Other opposition elements tried albeit ineffectually to whip the people’s emotions by attempting to link Masiyiwa’s comments to the unfortunate incident of 1 August where six people perished in a violent opposition post-poll protest. They posted the gory images of the victims on the social media to rouse the people’s anger against Government and Masiyiwa but progressive Zimbabweans clearly pointed out that Masiyiwa never referred to the incident and stressed its irrelevance to the matter at hand much to the embarrassment of the Hwendes and Dzamaras of this world.
Feeble and doomed consumer boycott
Frustrated by the negative outcome of the unjustified vilification of Masiyiwa and undaunted by the resultant monumental failure and untold embarrassment, Hwende attempted to call for a boycott of Econet Wireless’ products and services using twitter. This further demonstrated the witlessness of the opposition which Zimbabwe is cursed with. Econet has the biggest subscriber base at 11,4 million. Numbers do not lie. It is more popular than the MDC-T Chamisa faction if the 2.4 million people who voted for Chamisa are anything to go by. Others reminded him of the painful and uncomfortable truth that if his faction’s membership failed to heed its call to contribute towards Chamisa’s unnecessary election petition costs, they could not heed the boycott call. All progressive Zimbabweans dismissed the boycott call forcing Hwende to shamefully remove the tweet, leaving him with an egg on his face.
The people or power at heart?
The whole Masiyiwa comments saga opened the eyes of many Zimbabweans to the kind of opposition which they support. They realised that the MDC-T Chamisa faction is only after power at the expense of their own welfare. It became very clear that the faction viewed sanctions as a form of a trump card to gain access to the levers of power and anyone who dares to call for their lifting would incur the fullest extent of the outfit’s wrath.
To the faction the ongoing difficulties which Zimbabweans are experiencing are grist to its mill of the pursuit of power. This is the reason why a few weeks ago Chamisa emerged from his Harvest (of Thorns) House office, jerry can in hand, not to assess the fuel situation and proffer solutions but to celebrate motorists’ predicament and incite them against Government for cheap political points.
Contrast this, dear reader, with Strive Masiyiwa who has invested US$1.5 billion in Zimbabwe over the past two decades. Place side by side Chamisa and his motley crew with Masiyiwa who, through Econet Wireless, swiftly placed on the table US$10 million when Harare and other urban areas faced a cholera outbreak in September this year. Ironically, the outbreak was traceable to the service delivery negligence on the part of the MDC-dominated urban local authorities.
Given the opposition’s exploitation of the people’s suffering for possible political gain, one is persuaded to believe some reports indicating that the recurrent cholera and typhoid outbreaks were, in fact, an opposition strategy to turn the people against Government. This was corroborated by the some City of Harare workers’ attempt to inflate prices of consumables such as latex gloves in order to reduce the effectiveness of the Econet donation so that continued deaths would reflect negatively on Government.
Masiyiwa’s unforgiveable sin according to the Chamisa camp is speaking views which agree with those of President Mnangagwa on Zimbabwe’s economy. While Chamisa was attempting to gain an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest number of election campaign rallies, President Mnangagwa was pursuing economic projects which would help to improve the people’s livelihoods. This is because the President knew that great countries are not built by funny and humorous campaign addresses but through getting economic fundamentals right so that its economy can blossom.
At this rate, by 2023 Chamisa and his group would be ordinary folk after achieving the unintended – political irrelevance. This is because they are majoring big time in the minor.
