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Midlands Bureau Chief
MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai is still trying to court other political parties to form an alliance despite the fact that it is less than10 days before the elections. Addressing his party’s supporters at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru yesterday, Mr Tsvangirai said there was no point for the opposition to split its vote when they were all working to unseat President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party.
“Those whom we started the party with, if they want to help us save Zimbabwe and its children from the muddy situation caused by Mugabe, are free to join us. We don’t want to give excuses this time for failing to win the election.”
He was apparently referring to MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube and Zapu leader Ndumiso Dabengwa who refused to join his coalition with Dr Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Dawn/Kusile and Mr Rekai Semwayo who has been disowned by Zanu (Ndonga).
The MDC-T leader also repeated his unsubstantiated claims that Zanu-PF would rig the 31 July plebiscite alleging that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was printing eight million ballot papers instead of 6 million.
Mr Tsvangirai said his party had insiders in Zec and other state organs who fed him with intelligence on the goings on in the various organisations.
“It pains me that Zec failed to print enough ballot papers for the Special Vote thereby denying some police officers their right to vote.
The integrity of Zec will be at stake come 31 July. Mugabe wants a peaceful but rigged election. Some people are failing to sleep because they are trying to come up with ways of rigging elections. We hear that eight million ballot papers are going to be prepared instead of the official figure of 6 million. It pains us to hear such things and we don’t exactly blame Zec when it fails to register voters, especially in urban areas,” he said.
The MDC-T leader said he was ready to rule after going through a four-year apprentice at the hands of a man he pretends to loathe, President Mugabe.
He also acknowledged the critical role played by President Mugabe in liberating the country.
Mr Tsvangirai borrowed largely from the Zanu-PF manifesto and also from the Ncube-led MDC by promising the electorate “a broader indigenisation” and land for every Zimbabwean as well as devolution of power.
“Only a few benefited from indigenisation and we will make sure that everyone benefits from a broader scheme when we come into power. We are poor in a rich country,” he said.
Zanu-PF has already given land to landless Zimbabweans save for the sceptics who were expecting the MDC-T to win the 2002 elections and return land to white commercial farmers. The revolutionary party is also empowering rural communities through Community Share Ownership Schemes that are fast changing the face of rural areas.
The MDC-T leader ignored the positive impact of agriculture on the economy, preferring instead, to dwell on the effects of drought.
He tried to re-ignite the 2006-2007 situation by telling the gathering that there was hunger in Zimbabwe. He downplayed, as always, the negative effects of illegal sanctions imposed by the West and promised to “end starvation” and create jobs in the country, once elected.
“If it were not for MDC-T, this country would still be isolated forever. Don’t listen to Baba Chatunga (President Mugabe)’s stories that the country is suffering from sanctions. Sanctions are an incentive for good behaviour. We have plans to engage the International community. We will welcome everyone who wants to befriend us and benefit Zimbabweans . . . The hunger and other socio-economic challenges that you are facing will end on I August.
We will not take your vote for granted and if we fail, we would have failed genuinely, but I don’t think we will fail with all the experience we gathered in the Inclusive Government,” said Mr Tsvangirai.
The MDC-T leader challenged President Mugabe and other presidential candidates to a public debate on national television ZTV.
He said he wanted to prove that he was not afraid of the election to the nation on television.
Mr Tsvangirai was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth and the MDK leader, Dr Simba Makoni.
Online Reporter