By Rufaro Gijima
Over the past two decades or so it has become apparent that opposition parties in the country, particularly MDC (Chamisa led) have laboured under an erroneous illusion that they hold the key to the Zimbabwean crisis.
To the contrary, the party has failed to articulate sound economic ideologies and convince the electorate that they would make better leaders, but have expended its energy rubbishing Zanu PF and calling President Mnangagwa names and proffering unwanted advice on how Zanu PF should run the country’s economy and affairs.
Typical Chamisa and his usual utterances, instead of focusing on embracing all stakeholder dialogue in healing and rebuilding the country, was recently at it yet again at the church organised dialogue breakfast meeting to brag about MDC’s imaginary “solutions” to the economic mess bedevilling the country.
“I can assure you that there can be dialogue by any other party, but that dialogue will not resolve our issues because it’s a matter of what is the dispute. The dispute is a matter of the electoral result that was disputed. That electoral result that was disputed was not disputed by some of the political parties that are in agreement with President Mnangagwa. I disagreed with President Mnangagwa,” Chamisa said.
The MDC leader’s naivety yet again shows the opposition leaders’ immaturity and reluctance to settle the hostilities that have been damaging to the nation. It’s sad that despite, nearly all opposition parties agreeing to the need to have dialogue and map the way forward for the benefit of the country, delusional Chamisa remains hung up on an already resolved election result and feel that the best way to ascend to power is harping on the issue until he gets his way.
For so long MDC seem to be engulfed by this insatiable quest to make people suffer and rise against government – hoping to go down in history as that party which rescued people from tyranny, really?
This might have worked in some parts of the world, but has failed dismally for the past two decades in Zimbabwe. It’s time for an all stakeholders’ dialogue.
Instead of Chamisa seizing the opportunity to explain how the nation should best move forward or how the self-hyped opposition would make the lives of Zimbabweans better, MDC saw it fit, as has become the norm, to malign Zanu PF at every given opportunity blaming it for all the ills bedevilling the country yet he intentionally forgets, his party called for illegal sanctions that have wreaked havoc on the economy making people suffer.
This proclivity by the opposition betrays a lack of alternative strategy to unseat Zanu PF’s rule, hence, the former knack of using violence to soil the name of President Mnangagwa in a bid to sell the purported “illegitimacy” mantra. Wake up and smell the coffee comrade, this route won’t take you anywhere, just as it took the late Morgan Tsvangirai (may his soul rest in peace) anywhere.
To all opposition parties in Zimbabwe, Zimbabweans come first. You might have your differences but at the end of the day everyone should put the interests of the nation first. MDC on its own does not have the answers to the Zimbabweans challenges as they want people to believe. Hopefully, MDC will realise this sooner than later and work towards rebuilding Zimbabwe as a united nation.
