By Claver Nyuki
… as that party legislators abandon its mandate in Parly
His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa today delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) and officially opened the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament in Harare.
President Mnangagwa touched on wide ranging issues, admitting to the challenges facing the nation while also deliberating on policies and programs Government is undertaking in addressing these and many other issues that impinge on people’s lives.
In a move that betrays the MDC as devoid of new ideas, that party’s legislators walked out of Parliament building as the President was about to give his address. In an interview outside the Parly building, the MDC Spokesperson, Daniel Molokele declared that the MDC does not regard President Mnangagwa as legitimate President.
Since its formation in 1999, the MDC has largely relied on demonstrations, sanctions and the illegitimacy mantra in a bid to remain politically relevant, which in truth has not managed to translate to votes.
In 2008, the MDC MPs booed and hackled the late former President, Robert Mugabe throughout his speech, arguing that he was illegitimate and swore not to recognise him.
In 2013, the MDC legislators threatened to boycott the State of the Nation (SONA) again claiming that the former President was illegitimate, going further to allege that the elections held that year in which ZANU PF won resoundingly were rigged.
In 2018 during the official opening of the ninth Parliament presided over by President Mnangagwa, the MDC legislators also walked out of Parliament, again claiming not to recognise him as the country’s elected leader.
Fast forward to the present, again the MDC legislators have walked out of the SONA again, and no prices for guessing the reason, but the party should introspect, the tired old strategy should be done away with if people are to believe that new leadership has anything new to offer.
The MDC, has been participating consistently in elections ever since its formation and has managed to lose in all the Presidential elections. Since 2008 it has been engaging in the same modus operandi which has proved time and again that it does not produce results. Albert Einstein was right in saying 'insanity' was 'Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting to achieve different results'.
MDC-T vice President, Obert Gutu, is even seeing the craziness of his former counterparts and suggested that the MDC was just clutching on straws as there is no legitimacy problems in the country.
Posting on his Twitter handle he said, “There's NO crisis of political legitimacy in Zimbabwe. There's a socio-economic crisis but the entire civilised global community knows that the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe is HE ED Mnangagwa. Anything contrary to this is rank madness, morbid political hallucination.”
On the issue of the MPs walking out of Parliament, he said, “Walking out as the President presents his SONA is a defeatist attitude & approach that's utterly & completely devoid of strategic thought & vision. You walk out of Parliament but you're the first in the queue to demand increased salaries & perks for MPs! Pathetic!”
LEAD President, Linda Masarira has in the past also shared the same sentiments, declaring that MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa’s claim that President Mnangagwa is illegitimate has no leg to stand on.
MDC is fast running out of ideas and time that even its fiercest supporters are becoming disillusioned by the direction the party is undertaking.
The people have lost zeal in the demonstrations and protests by the MDC and come 2023, the MDC would still be singing the illegitimacy mantra, forgetting that the people’s vote are won on the ground and not by walking out of parliament.
