ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 390 - 15/05/2000

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS

Zimbabwe - Can the MDC deliver?

ELECTIONS

In the uncertain world of politics, the only certainty is uncertainty. President Robert Mugabe has been around this world for too long to be uncertain anymore. However the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the new kid in this political world, is likely to make Mugabe uncertain

At the end of January this year, the MDC elected leaders of value in their inaugural congress in Chitungwiza. The thirty elected leaders now form the party’s executive. Some of the people elected are Morgan Tsvangirai (President), Gibson Sibanda (Vice-President) — these two are also at the helm of the labour movement, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU ) where they hold the positions of secretary-general and president respectively. Tendai Biti a prominent lawyer in Harare is the MDC secretary for lands and agriculture. David Coltart, a lawyer and human rights activist, holds the secretary for legal affairs portfolio. Other office holders are: secretary for health — Dr. Tichaona Mudzingwa; secretary for information and publicity —Learnmore Jongwe; secretary for security — Job Sikhala. As president of the Students Representative Council at the University of Zimbabwe in 1998, Jongwe was suspended for leading demonstrating students to Munhumutapa Building and for insisting that they be addressed by President Mugabe. Sikhala who was part of the same Council, was also suspended for running a «military wing» at the university in 1998. Trudy Stevenson, a human rights activist, holds the policy formulation and research portfolio, and Sekai Holland is in charge of international relations. Fidelis Mhashu a former principal lecturer at Seke Teachers’ College has taken early retirement to concentrate on politics. He has been appointed the MDC ‘s secretary for education.

Addressing over 4,000 people soon after being elected, Tsvangirai said: «The greatest mistake that we have made, is to make gods out of people. We are not gods. We are here to serve the people. The government and even the security officials, belong to the nation. They must serve the people, not harass them. We will not allow a situation to develop whereby our people are turned into economic refugees.»

A major issue — the state of the economy

The biggest fight in the run-up to the elections is how to handle the state of the economy. When the economy is wrong, nothing else is right. In 1980, Zimbabwe seemed assured of a glorious future as the bread basket of the southern African region. Now, a persistent economic slump, political paralysis and corruption have taken their toll on the country. The fuel crisis threatens to bring the economy to its knees. The National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM ) is saddled with an enormous debt and does not have cash to augment Zimbabwe’s oil reserves. Mugabe blames the fuel crisis on white farmers. He accuses them of hoarding fuel in their farms so as to create an artificial shortage.

However, it is now becoming clear that the situation has deteriorated to the point where something stronger than the usual «it’s not our fault» is required. A painful economic slump and a «business-as-usual» attitude by the country’s political leaders, have sapped the nation’s vitality and confidence. Even Mugabe himself understands this. That’s why two weeks after blaming white commercial farmers for hoarding fuel, he became angry with the NOCZIM officials. He accused them of abandoning an operating US $100 million facility, in favour of underhand deals, from which they were given kick-backs. Mugabe said he was at a loss to understand why these officials engaged themselves in corrupt activities. «Those we pay high salaries have also the highest propensity for corruption, and that, really, is a puzzle.»

And what about ZANU-PF?

People get hot under the collar when talking about the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF ) government. Gorden Moyo, the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU )’s information and publicity secretary, believes that ZANU-PF is responsible for the sorry state of Zimbabwe’s economy. He says the party is now tired and must take a rest. However, Josiah Tungamirai, ZANU-PF ‘s secretary for youth, dismisses ZAPU as a «group of frustrated youths bent on destabilising the country».

Tsvangirai will be challenging Kumbirai Kangai, the Minister of Agriculture, for the Buhera South seat in the elections. Tsvangirai says for the past twenty years, the government has made no progress on the land issue. «They have two million hectares of land which is under-utilised. We will set up a land commission with the overall aim of giving land to the people,» he says.

The MDC ‘s entry to the political scene has provoked as much apprehension as applause. President Mugabe accuses the party of being foreign stooges. By any measure, Mugabe has had a tough time lately. His current problem is to solve the equation between what MDC promises and what ZANU-PF has been known to give. Undoubtedly, Mugabe is still in charge, but Morgan Tsvangirai is a man he has to take seriously.