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The MDC-A has become panicky as signs of economic stability, which naturally undermines its relevance, begin to set in, a Namibian-based economist has said.
Dr Drian Kashkongo, a lecture at a university in Namibia, said an underperforming economy generally drives the opposition party’s agenda.
“Imagine this: when the Biblical Lazarus died, his clothes were distributed amongst his surviving relatives. How did those beneficiaries feel when they heard that a man called Jesus had resurrected Lazarus? Obviously they were not very pleased as some of them were already charming ladies with Lazarus’ wardrobe,” said Dr Kashkongo on the sidelines of a one-day symposium hosted by a Namibian bank, where he was presenting a paper on “Political profit from calamities”.
Individuals working to revive the economy, he said, were likely to be persecuted.
The economist contends that the MDC-Ahas shown that it is incapable of leading a recovery of the local economy, even if it were to take over the reins.
“There are signs of economic stabilisation in Zimbabwe, and obviously this is not good news for the opposition there, which would prefer the economic status quo to remain so that they have something to blame the ruling Government,” he said.
The MDC-A, he added, only wanted to get into power through the back door.
He castigated the MDC-A and opposition parties in Africa for what he called “Machiavellian modus operandi” of getting into power.
“You cannot get into power through the suffering of the ordinary masses. You call for sanctions which ordinarily do not directly affect your targeted political foes. The sanctions hurt the ordinary person on the streets and I wonder if the sanctions advocates want to rule over dead bodies,” he said.
He exhorted African politicians to sell their economic blueprints to the electorate instead of inviting sanctions on them.
Economic manifestos of most opposition political parties on the continent, including the MDC-A’s Road to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness And Democracy (RELOAD), do not have any viable substance to sell to the electorate, he said.
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