The MDC is now truly and effectively surnamed T

By  Tinomudaishe Chinyoka

Contrary to popular belief, University of Zimbabwe students did not always go on demonstrations for more money. In fact, that was always a claim made by the police and others to discredit the students’ image. I know this for a fact, because for a brief period they trusted me to lead them.

The issue that we wanted addressed the most was the University of Zimbabwe Amendment Act, which gave too much power to the Minister of High Education (and therefore the President) in terms of appointments to the bodies that ran the University.

It was a threat against academic freedom, and we thought it might end up being used to put pliant people in power at the University who were not necessarily the best qualified. Their decisions would not always be for the good of the institution, but for political ends, which would devalue the prestige that we felt the University had.

What is not known is that after every demonstration, it was the job of Prof Welshman Ncube as Senior Proctor to charge and prosecute those student leaders that he felt were responsible for the demonstrations.

Welshman Ncube was the reason why some of us spent several long periods on suspension from the University, and a few were expelled altogether. Tsvangirai of course thought Welshman was a great progressive, and he made him his lieutenant later.

Since the recent MDC Congress, I have found myself reflecting on those days, including what happened one day when, as President of the Students Union, I invited Morgan Tsvangirai, then Secretary General of the ZCTU, to come and address the students.

Aside from excoriating me for sharing a stage with President Mugabe, which he claimed he would never ever do, Morgan Tsvangirai made reference to the UZ Amendment Act, and how they, as workers, were equally affected by such laws.

I never thought anything about that claim then, as I assumed he meant that workers also faced laws that allowed too much interference by the State and little say for them as stakeholders.

But looking at the recent resolutions of the MDC Congress, I am now persuaded to a different view, namely that Morgan Tsvangirai had no idea what the UZ Amendment Act said, what our problem with it was, or why we wanted it repealed. He had in all likelihood probably heard it being mentioned many times, and felt that this was something nice to mention.

Just as he has no idea what democracy means, why people want it, and why they thought he was the person to bring it to them. He must have simply gone to enough NGO meetings, attended a few SAPES Trust seminars, read enough newspapers and saw enough TV to know that democracy is what people in any country say they want, that it was what they expected their politicians to be faithful to, and so he claimed to be a democrat.

Of course, some of us saw this coming, and left, our flirtation with the MDC brief but educative. A man that has spent the last 15 years falsely accusing Zanu PF of stealing elections has now institutionalised electoral boycott as a party policy, and yet claims that this congress is the last in opposition. So, he will not take part in elections, but will not have another congress until he is President of Zimbabwe? Does this add up?

But that is not the worst of it. Hidden somewhere within the raft of all their resolutions (on land audits, on looking into the plight of war veterans (LOL!) and on paying lip-service to disability rights, etc), were these nuggets:

Congress resolved to amend the constitution to allow the President to be the custodian of the party name, custodian of all party assets, to supervise all in the leadership, to be the party’s chief fundraiser and to suspend National Standing Committee members through the National Council for breach of the party constitution. In this regard the Secretary General shall no longer be responsible ‘for all party affairs in the National Secretariat’ and shall report to the President.

Congress resolved to ratify the recommendation of national council to expand the members of the National Standing Committee to include the secretary for elections who shall be appointed by the President.

Congress resolved that deputies of officers of congress except the vice president and the vice chairperson shall not be elected from the next congress but will be appointed by the President from a pool of national executive members elected from the provinces.

Congress resolved that all national standing committee members shall work under the supervision and the authority of the President.

Aside from the brushing aside of dissenting voices (think Munyaradzi Gwisai, Tendai Biti and yours truly), this grubby power grab looks both unseemly and dirty.

The MDC owes Zanu PF a fair contest, not giving us such rich fodder on which to base our campaign slogans so much so that when we win by another landslide, the only answer that the MDC will have will be to claim another Nikuv. How can you hope to win an election on claims to democracy when you cannot practice it in your own party?

These are the very issues that Morgan Richard Tsvangirai tried, unsuccessfully, to have his standing committee adopt prior to the congress. He wanted the Secretary General’s powers trimmed. After he failed, his relatives were briefing that it was Nelson Chamisa who was against these changes.

Now, all we know is that Chamisa somehow lost a position that he was a shoe-in for, and that everyone that campaigned on the platform of ‘Todya huchi naSave’ got in. That they are all related to Morgan Tsvangirai or his chief backers is a mere coincidence.

All we know is that once Chamisa was reduced from presumptive number two to a mere member, the very same raft of proposals that was rejected by the same party was now suddenly party policy.

As a member of Zanu PF, I should be ululating, because this means that we can now win any election without some idiot claiming the ‘democratic/moral high ground’ and claiming that only he can bring true democracy to Zimbabwe. What is the evidence of that?

For as they run their affairs in opposition, so shall they lead when they are voted in. If that is not a saying, I have now coined it.

Yet the signs were always there.

I was a delegate at the inaugural MDC Congress at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex. During one of the sessions, a call was made for a resolution on whether or not the MDC should take part in the Chidyausiku Constitutional Commission, which was then sitting to draft a new constitution (the one people rejected in the subsequent referendum – I voted Yes).

There was overwhelming support for not taking part, and only handful thought the MDC should participate. I was among their number. In typical ‘democratic’ fashion, the seven or so of us were invited to come and speak about why we thought the party should be involved. I remember I spoke for 2 minutes, and I doubt anyone paid any attention.

But I do remember one poignant thing: Tsvangirai was not on the stage, where all the other leaders were. Instead, it later transpired that at that very moment, when the party he aspired to lead into power as President was debating the crucial question of whether or not they should participate in the Constitution making process, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai had gone to the kitchen to check that the ladies doing the cooking were on time and that he, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, would not be happy if they cooked something similar to what they had made before, which was not up to the standard he expected.

This is a man who aspires to be President of one of the most important countries in SADC, and he asks his ‘last congress in opposition’ to elect him Lord of the Party Name, Custodian of the Spoons and Supervisor of the Catering Team. If the MDC buys a 2 litre bootle of cooking oil for a meeting in Dotito, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai wants to be custodian of that.

If you donate some paraffin for the cell group meeting in Mbalabala, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the true keeper of that too. If you elect a small team to lead the cooking at your district meeting, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is their supervisor, and if they decide to collect empty coke bottles and exchange them for money, they must account to the Chief Fundraiser, who is, as you might have guessed, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.

It does not end there. He has the power to appoint, appoint and appoint until aguta, then appoint again. He appoints people to the Standing Committee, he appoints deputies of all office bearers except two, and as if that were not enough, all Standing Committee members work under his authority.

Even the UZ Amendment Act does not say that where University Council and Senate members are appointed they should work under the ‘supervision and authority’ of the Minister of Higher Education.

What does working under his authority mean anyway? If there is a vote, and he directs them or authorises them to vote a certain way, members cannot ignore his direction and still claim to be acting under his authority.

And since he is now endowed with the power to appoint and suspend (that is, to hire and fire) national standing committee members, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai anogona kuita madiro aGeorgina and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

So, to take stock, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai now owns everything that the MDC used to own, from toothpicks to cars. He alone can now hire and fire National Standing Committee members. He alone appoints all the deputies in the party except two, but those two that he does not appoint, he can still fire, until whoever has the power to appoint them puts people that he likes.

He is the chief fundraiser, custodian of the keys to the safe and, as if that were not enough, he owns the party name. While you digest on that, if you happen to be an MDC member, ponder this: you know that party card you think belongs to you?

As that is truly a party asset, it belongs to Tsvangirai now. The lawyers will still need to decide whether ‘party members’ are an asset of the party, but if they are, then they too belong to Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. Now you start to understand certain behaviours, yes?

The MDC is now truly, and effectively surnamed Tsvangirai. As a juridical person, all that is left is for the party to walk to Makombe building and apply for a birth certificate.

Tinomudaishe Chinyoka

Former Student Union President, UZ

Member, Zanu PF UK