By Political Editor Munyaradzi Huni
THE British government has abandoned the MDC and is now working with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and other non-governmental organisations in its bid to tarnish the image of the country, a move seen as a first step towards dumping the opposition leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.
It is understood that the British government is searching for a possible candidate in the ZCTU to take over as the opposition leader. This follows reports that the party’s secretary-general, Professor Welshman Ncube, is positioning himself to take over as the MDC leader during the party’s congress set for December next year.
Mr Tony Blair’s government is understood to be against the idea of Prof Ncube’s takeover as the MDC leader. They now view him as "too soft" and "too close" to the Zanu-PF Government following his recent remarks that there should be no confrontation between the MDC and the Government.
Although efforts to get a comment from the British High Commission in Zimbabwe proved fruitless yesterday, it is understood that the ZCTU secretary-general, Mr Wellington Chibhebhe, is already being groomed to take over as the MDC president while some of the party’s top leaders would be drawn from some NGOs.
Attempts to get a comment from Mr Chibhebhe proved fruitless as his mobile phone was on voicemail.
During an hour-long meeting with this writer last week, an MDC executive member, who refused to be named for fear of victimisation, revealed that the British government was now diverting funds meant for the party to the ZCTU and a selected number of NGOs.
"Things are getting tough for us. The funds are no longer coming as they used to. The British and even some of our individual donors have lost faith in the MDC. There is a perception that the MDC, led by Mr Tsvangirai, has run out of steam and there is need to find new players.
"In recent months, we have noticed a shift from the MDC to the ZCTU and some NGOs by the British High Commissioner in Zimbabwe, Mr Brian Donnelly. In fact, it seems as if he is no longer interested in dealing with the current MDC leadership.
"We understand he has been holding several meetings with some ZCTU leaders and our investigations show that Chibhebhe is being groomed as a possible candidate to take over from Mr Tsvangirai," said the MDC executive member.
Mr Chibhebhe has been very vocal in recent months attacking the Government, raising suspicions that he harbours political ambitions.
In July this year, Mr Chibhebhe called on the Government to resign, saying it had failed to solve the country’s economic and social problems. During the May Day celebrations held at Rufaro Stadium this year, Mr Chibhebhe called on President Mugabe to resign, accusing him of being behind the country’s economic problems.
Selling the ZCTU secretary-general as a possible candidate to take over from Mr Tsvangirai to the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, will not be difficult considering that the two have met in the past.
"If they chose Chibhebhe, then I think we will be in trouble. The man has a cautious approach to whatever he does and he commands some respect in many circles. But his weakness is that he doesn’t have a strong support base," said the MDC executive member.
Investigations by The Sunday Mail also revealed that the British government, through Mr Donnelly, was also trying to recruit other leaders of the party from non-governmental organisations.
"They are dangling money just as they did to Mr Tsvangirai and I tell you some people are falling for it.
"They are now pouring lots of money into these NGOs and many of us suspect that they are recruiting new leaders for the MDC so that by the time the MDC congress starts in December next year, they will have a strong team to displace Tsvangirai and win against the Welshman Ncube faction," said one director with a local non-governmental organisation who refused to be named.
It is believed that Archbishop Pius Ncube from Bulawayo, who is on an anti-Government crusade, is being recruited so that he would join the new-look MDC leadership.Recently, Archbishop Ncube was in South Africa with his organisation, the Solidarity Peace Trust, where he tried to tarnish the image of the National Youth Service, saying the youths from these centres were being "used and abused" by the Government.
He paraded some youths at the South African meeting purporting to be graduates from the national service claiming that they were being "used and abused" by the Government. Investigations later revealed that some of the youths were common criminals who were fugitives from the law.
"We appeal to Commonwealth countries to maintain and intensify the isolation of the Zimbabwe Government and to make disbandment of the youth militia one of the conditions that must be met before our nation can be readmitted into the international community," read a report produced by Archbishop Ncube’s trust.
Said the NGO director: "All the guys who are being targeted have to prove their ability to take the Government head-on because one’s inclusion in the new-look MDC team depends on one’s ability to create real problems for the Govern-ment."
It is understood that Mr Donnelly is also using the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, the Legal Re-sources Foundation and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace.
These NGOs are allegedly working with the British government to tarnish the image of the county and ensure that Zimbabwe is not readmitted into the Commonwealth Councils during the Commonwealth meeting set for Nigeria in December.
"I think if they succeed in this, then their rewards would be the inclusion in the new-look MDC leadership. The British have the money and I can assure you that by the time the MDC holds its congress, they would have made some progress with their plan," said the NGO director.
This new development is set to create more problems for the beleaguered MDC, especially Mr Tsvangirai as he now has to put up a strong fight to retain his position during the party’s congress next year.
"The only thing that Tsvangirai has on his side now is the imagined popularity in the urban areas, otherwise he is finished. Prof Ncube is making significant progress to take over the party since he was acquitted in the treason trial and his meetings with regional leaders have raised his stature.
"There is no denying it that Prof Ncube is now more popular with regional leaders than Tsvangirai. So Prof Ncube is a serious threat. On the other hand, if the British decide to come in with another candidate, then that’s it for Tsvangirai. He can’t win that one," said one political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe.
Two weeks ago, The Sunday Mail revealed that the MDC deputy president, Mr Gibson Sibanda, believed to be backing Prof Ncube for the party’s presidency, was allegedly on a crusade to sideline all MDC members sympathetic to Mr Tsvangirai from the party structures.
So far, the MDC provincial chairman for Chitungwiza, Mr Alexio Musundire, and his Midlands counterpart, Mr Evans Ruzvidzo, have been fired from the party by a disciplinary committee chaired by Mr Sibanda. The two are believed to be in Mr Tsvangirai’s camp.
Mitayo Potosi
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