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MDC not aware of its role as opposition MOVEMENT for Demo-cratic Change Members of Parliament are not aware of their role as opposition legislators. The situation has been exacerbated by lack of direction and policy by their party, which has continued to cherish foreign ideologies while condemning Government programmes aimed at improving the lives of the generality of Zimbabweans. Instead of working together with the ruling party in shaping the country�s destiny, the MDC legislators have childishly condemned every move the Government has made to economically empower the masses. The opposition MPs condemned the just- completed land reform programme that seeks to correct land imbalances created by colonialism. The land reform exercise has already benefited over 400 000 landless families. The legislators have defiantly ignored the historical reality that more than 500 000 people perished in the armed struggle to reclaim land from colonial settlers. The MDC leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai said the agrarian reform would turn the nation into Stone Age scavengers. Many people who felt that his views were those of his European supporters roundly condemned his remarks. The party supported the white commercial farmers who did not want equal land redistribution. The farmers and their kith and kin in the West came in full support of the MDC�s plan to oust Cde Mugabe for embarking on the fast-track land resettlement exercise. Western donor aid agencies joined in the fray against the programme in a frantic bid to force the Government to reverse the agrarian revolution. Instead of coming up with ideas and project proposals to improve the lives of the majority, the preoccupation of the MDC legislators has been to discredit the Government and plan the unconstitutional removal of President Mugabe from power. Outside the House of Parliament, the MDC legislators have committed heinous crimes, including murder and terrorist activities. Zimbabwe has experienced hell since the coming into being of the MDC. People in general have gone through horrifying experiences as opposition MPs and their supporters got involved in terrorism resulting in abductions and brutal murders of Zanu-PF activists. MDC legislator for Lobengula-Magwegwe, Mr Fletcher Dulini-Ncube, together with other opposition supporters, were last year accused of abduction and brutal murder of Bulawayo war veteran leader Cde Cain Nkala. Cde Nkala was kidnapped from his Magwegwe home when six armed people stormed his house and assaulted his wife before bundling the war veteran into a Nissan truck. Simon Dareen Spooner, a personal adviser to MDC legislator Mr David Coltart, was at one time accused of involvement in the murder of a Zanu-PF activist, Cde Lumukani Luphahla. Other MDC members allegedly involved in the murder were Sony Nicholas Masera and Army Zulu. Two other MDC legislators, Professor Welshman Ncube (MP for Bulawayo North-East), Gweru Rural MP Mr Renson Gasela and the MDC president, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, are facing treason charges for allegedly plotting to kill President Mugabe. The late Kuwadzana MP, Mr Learnmore Jongwe, was facing a murder charge for stabbing his wife Rutendo to death. Mbare East MP Mr Tichaona Munyanyi is also facing murder charges over the cold- blooded killing of a senior Zanu-PF official, Cde Alick Khan Manjengwa. The MDC legislator has already appeared in court. MDC MP for Hatfield Mr Tapiwa Mashakada was last year picked up for questioning by the police in connection with the bombing of the offices of the Voice of the People radio station in Harare�s Milton Park. He was picked up with three other MDC supporters. The emergence of terrorism forced the Government to enact the Public Order and Security Act, which gives police more powers to deal with perpetrators of such activities and criminal elements. The opposition MPs and their white supporters, former Rhodesians, intensified their terrorist operations before and after the presidential elections. Senior MDC officials have openly advocated violence, urging their members to take up arms to violently overthrow the democratically elected Government in the country. The opposition has established itself as a violent party, which wants to grab power without going through the ballot box. Parliament boycotts of President Mugabe�s addresses to the nation have only shown how childish the MDC legislators are. Instead of digesting Cde Mugabe�s speech and making some inputs, they have disrespectfully walked out. Events such as these only expose the immaturity of the legislators. Analysts say a vibrant opposition party should behave like a shadow government and put its ideological differences with the ruling party aside and positively participate in the country�s economic recovery process. This should be done as a national obligation. After losing the presidential elections, the MDC, with the support of the National Constitutional Assembly, tried to disrupt the country�s economy by calling for work stoppages. This has, however, proved to be a big flop as it did not get support from the people who have declared their support for the Government programmes. The victory of Cde Mugabe in the presidential elections in March last year dealt a devastating blow to MDC foreign funders and supporters. It was victory for Zimbabwe�s Third Chimurenga that seeks to economically equip the black majority. The MDC is foreign sponsored and heavily financed by white commercial farmers who were opposed to the land reform programme. Britain and its allies in the European Union and the United States have refused to endorse President Mugabe�s re-election as Head of State. The same countries have since imposed smart sanctions on Zimbabwe. The opposition is not representing the interests of its black Zimbabwean electorate but British colonialist and imperialist interests. The MDC should blame itself for losing support in its former strongholds. The defeat of the MDC in the recent district council and parliamentary elections caused cracks in the party. It is now difficult for the opposition MPs to explain to their relevant constituencies their duties in Parliament. One lesson people have learnt from the opposition MPs is that they went to Parliament when they were not ready for politics. They do not have a solid political leadership background. They were lucky to have won the 2000 elections through a protest vote by the people because of the economic hardships. After its display of violent and childish activities, it would be foolhardy to think that the MDC would again master votes in future elections. People were now sick and tired of misconduct and failure by the MPs to uphold their oath. The boycotts of Parliament were irrelevant and irresponsible. Recently, Mr Tsvangirai came under heavy attack from his disgruntled supporters who felt he was spending too much time attacking the Government instead of paying attention to bread and butter issues. In his desperate efforts to get into power, the MDC leader has attacked South Africa and Nigeria for not supporting it. He criticised the two countries for supporting Zimbabwe. The opposition is now seeking to make friends with the new Kenyan government of President Mwai Kibaki. The MDC plans to send a four-man delegation led by the party�s vice-president Mr Gibson Sibanda in the hope that the National Rainbow Coalition would support it after failing to get support from liberation political parties in Southern Africa. The Mulindwas
communication group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" |
