The MDC Alliance that never was

Nduduzo Tshuma

THE Movement for Democratic Change Alliance launched early this month and celebrated in some sections of the opposition as headway towards forming a “strong” challenge to the ruling Zanu-PF party is fast turning out to be a farce before the ink even dries on the document.

The wheels of the so called Alliance started falling off barely 24 hours after its signing and nomination of MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai as its leader. Three of the MDC-T’s top leadership, one of Mr Tsvangirai’s deputies, Ms Thokozani Khupe, national organising secretary Mr Abednicho Bhebhe and national chairman Mr Lovemore Moyo snubbed the launch.

On the following day, the trio held a meeting with Matabeleland structures in Bulawayo which was disrupted by youths reportedly linked to Mr Tsvangirai’s office but MDC-T insiders indicated that the meeting sought to declare that the region did not support the coalition.

The Alliance suffered another blow when the Mr Tendai Biti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which was said to be a signatory to the Alliance, said it had not agreed to the union making its appearance on the day of the launch a ceremonial one.

The PDP, true to their word, have started deploying members to contest in various seats, a sign that they do not have any faith that the Alliance will ever materialise.

This left Mr Tsvangirai in Alliance with the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC whose structures comprise members of the national executive as the lower ones have long disintegrated, and a bunch of other political unknowns.

The Prof Ncube led MDC, from the chaos that rocked the party since their dismal performance at the 2013 elections, needs to lean on the MDC-T not as a strategic partner but a survival tactic.

The Dr Joice Mujuru-led National People’s Party, long deemed as a would be boost to the alliance, has been at odds with Mr Tsvangirai’s party over positions with no hope that they will ever find common ground.

The disagreements have been largely centred on who should lead the coalition with both Dr Mujuru and Mr Tsvangirai refusing to be each other’s subordinate.

Just recently, Dr Mujuru’s spokesperson, Mr George Nyandoro, was quoted in the private media denying reports that his principal had agreed to deputise Mr Tsvangirai in the coalition.

If anything, the attempts to build the alliance have actually caused more problems for Mr Tsvangirai who is facing a rebellion from some of his lieutenants from Matabeleland, if not the entire region.

Indications are that Mr Tsvangirai will have a moment of truth and meet resistance from Matabeleland structures when he comes for the launch of the Alliance in Bulawayo on 2 September.

There are reports that Mr Moyo has been holding meetings with structures in Matabeleland calling for them to reject the coalition with other parties.

What is critical to note is that Mr Moyo, as an ally of Ms Khupe, is not acting alone but has the blessing of his faction.

Mr Moyo, in an indication that Matabeleland structures would reject the coalition, told our sister paper Sunday News that their members had questions around the coalition that Mr Tsvangirai would not be able to answer through the “so called” launch in Bulawayo.

“Truth be told in all our conversations we have had, a lot of questions have been raised which we failed to answer and can only be answered by Mr Tsvangirai alone, of which I feel if there is to be any progress at all, the president (Tsvangirai) should come and answer these questions which are being raised by party members in the region.

“I am not even sure whether Mr Tsvangirai will be able to give the clarity which the grassroots want during the so-called launch, it is now all up to him to see how he addresses this but he really owes the people a lot of answers,” said Mr Moyo.

Because of the simmering tensions in the Matabeleland structures over the MDC Alliance, some officials have confided that Mr Tsvangirai could be headed for Bulawayo earlier to try and deal with the looming rebellion.

Attempts to form a coalition of opposition parties was long predicted to fail with President Mugabe in April saying the opposition parties were in for a grand defeat.

“They have tried this and that, been together, they split again, they talk of coalitions. We shall make them talk all kinds of languages that is what Zanu-PF is capable of doing when we are united and doing our own thing,” he said.

“We look with glee, we look with joy as they daily turn on each other, while pretending to chase a mirage they have termed ‘grand coalition’, apparently unaware of the grand defeat that stares them in the face.”

The words of President Mugabe have proven more than prophetic as the alliance has suffered a still birth many months before the 2018 elections.

What turns out at the end is that the MDC Alliance launch of August 5, 2017 was nothing but a mass therapy session of political insignificants caught up in some crazy dream that they will not only defeat the ruling Zanu-PF but go on to take over the country’s reins of power.

These are the same dreams that Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, at a rally not long ago, said once encountered, one should brew traditional beer and cast away the misleading spirits.