IN an arena temporarily occupied by that flag-abusing pastor, Morgan Tsvangirai’s swift departure from his bedrest could have ordinarily been viewed as a sign of bravery but not far away from his residence was the sound of donor money ringing from the newly unveiled Western purses.
The donors are back in town.
Tsvangirai is back in office, defying the compulsions of his unfortunate ailment.
The connection is not too deep to unravel.
It is all about the money.
Never about power.
Power is not within their reach.
Anarchy and mayhem are within their grasp. Luring and compelling, there is stiff competition for attention and he who makes the most noise against the Government gains the most.
Some now beat pots, others wave the flag, alien to its meaning and detached from its symbolism.
Others burn tyres.
While most shuffle themselves in contention for the dirty dollars, Tsvangirai has set his eyes on the money and an even higher prize.
The embittered opposition leader has his eyes fixed on smuggling himself back to governance through the back door.
His National Transitional Authority (NTA), made last Friday, smacks not only of desperation but hypocrisy.
He sends subtle signals to the gullible West that Zimbabwe can only be ‘rescued’ from the economic malaise it is currently in through his warped NTA proposal.
What Tsvangirai is basically saying is, he holds the key to this country’s success.
We have heard before when he boasted holding the keys to the country’s economic solutions.
The doors were opened during the ill-fated inclusive Government era, but what followed was a disastrous adventure by Tsvangirai. But this is typical Tsvangirai.
Insipid and inept.
Transient and ossified.
“To this end, the national council, the party’s supreme decision making body in between congresses resolved that the way forward is a multi-partisan National Transitional Authority,” said Tsvangirai last Friday.
“It is our firm belief that the NTA must not be sculptured as the inclusive Government we established seven years ago.”
The Government of National Unity (GNU) imbroglio still haunts Tsvangirai up to this day.
He came into the arrangement amid high expectations that he would live up to his plethora of promises which included, among others, a US$10 billion economic rescue package, unlocking the country’s potential and reviving this sanctions-battered economy.
None of this happened.
On the contrary, Tsvangirai spent most of his time having a good time with numerous women on cruise ships.
Few have forgotten those embarrassing episodes.
This is why he wants another inclusive Government, only that this time it is packaged and presented as NTA.
How does a ‘multi-partisan’ arrangement not become an inclusive Government?
“The NTA must, by statute, operate parallel to the national executive authority of the country but with a specific mandate,” said Tsvangirai.
“The current regime should be left to deal with its own mess in terms of managing the economy.
“We cannot and should not make our hands dirty in this area.”
What Tsvangirai proposes, which he evidently doesn’t understand from the written speech he read to the media is that what he calls the NTA is in fact a parallel government which constitutionally has no accommodation.
The NTA, according to Tsvangirai, should supervise implementation of the Constitution, oversee and monitor the work of Commissions such as the Human Rights Commission, National Anti-Corruption Commission, National Peace, Healing and Reconciliation Commission, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and others.
How can an institution formed purportedly independent from Government want to monitor and supervise operations of the same Government it does not want to work with or engage with?
What Tsvangirai teaches us here is that his fight for control of the opposition political turf must gain currency through creating a parallel government.
The donors will fall for this.
They have time and again proven their naivety and most recent is their brazen endorsement of the flag-waving pastor’s nonsense.
They have fallen for the vendors’ antipathy against the Government.
They will latch on to anything that is anti-Government.
While Tsvangirai’s NTA proposal is his wish list and a donor money inducing project, there is no doubt it will find traction with the West who are eager to see ZANU PF leave office.
“The broad mandate of the NTA will be to steer the country on a path towards the return to legitimacy through free, fair and credible elections whose outcome is not disputed,” said Tsvangirai.
That is where the catch is.
Never mind talk of economic development, the issue is that elections can only be free and fair if Tsvangirai wins.
But the people of Zimbabwe have constantly reminded him of where their choice lies.
Government cannot be deemed illegitimate on the basis of the state of the economy. Ours is a legitimate Government that was duly endorsed by the people of Zimbabwe and various election monitoring teams on July 31 2013.
As the scramble for donor money commences in earnest, the biggest challenge confronting Tsvangirai is the impending split within his disjointed party.