DEMANDS for fresh elections are “idiotic” since Zimbabweans “clearly” voted for Zanu PF last year and rivals must now focus on explaining to the electorate how they fell for President Robert Mugabe’s “snake oil salesman” tactics as he fails to deliver on his promises.
This was said by MDC Renewal Team spokesman and Harare lawyer, Jacob Mafume, while addressing Midlands-based journalists in Gweru on Thursday.
Before its latest split, the opposition MDC-T party had rejected its comprehensive defeat in last July’s elections claiming the vote was rigged by President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party.
MDC-T leader and former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai still claims that the election was fraudulent and recently wrote to regional SADC leaders urging them to help facilitate fresh elections in the country.
Tendai Biti, who leads the Renewal faction, also said in a letter to SADC leaders last week that the election was a farce.
But Mafume, who left the MDC-T along with a number of other senior officials after Tsvangirai refused to step down, said the opposition must come to terms with the fact that Zimbabweans voted for Mugabe, impressed by his promises to deliver two million new jobs as well as increase salaries.
“They were promised poverty datum line salaries and teachers’ leaders were heard celebrating the news prematurely, as they dined with Zanu PF ministers only to be disappointed after the elections.
“There are many people that I know whom I met in queues openly telling me that they intended to vote for Zanu PF. They went on to vote for Zanu PF and told us that we (MDC-T leaders) were getting carried away with power in the inclusive government.”
Zimbabweans were only now realising that they had been led down a garden path by Zanu PF as the party fails to deliver on its election promises, Mafume said, adding that the opposition must focus its efforts on driving this reality check home.
Focus on economy
“We should focus on the economy and play our role as the opposition by keeping the ruling Zanu PF on its toes. We are the opposition and we will tell them where they go wrong,” he said.
“There is an election overdose in the country and this tends to affect efforts to revive the economy. The focus should now be on fixing the economy. People need to breathe.”
Calling for fresh polls now was a waste of time because Zanu PF would likely win again since the ruling party had won all by-elections held since the July 31 ballot.
“Zanu PF did whatever they did but the fact remains they won the elections. Let them govern for the benefit of everyone and work towards reviving the economy.
“Even if we hold elections, Zanu PF will win again. This is evident in the by-elections that have been held in the country so far. In any case, who will fund the elections? Certainly not the overburdened taxpayer,” said Mafume.
The Renewal Team is in the process of building a new party after the fallout with Tsvangirai and his group but Mafume said they were not establishing a new party.
“We are the same old MDC and this is why we suspended Morgan Tsvangirai and six others for failing to adhere to the party’s pro-democracy policies and founding principles,” he said.
Leadership change
“We are unlike Tsvangirai and his team because we follow the party policies. Tsvangirai is a simple man who is not bothered with niceties. I like his simplicity. He just announces in public, at a rally, ‘aahuya Biti ndamudzinga, ndamudzinga, what is next? (I have fired Biti) It gives him peace of mind and good sleep when he does this.
“We are different from such leadership in the Renewal Team. We follow the party policies and take people through processes. That is why we summoned Tsvangirai and the six others to a hearing before suspending them.”
Zimbabwe needed a new leadership with the ideas and the energy to drive the country out of its present social and economic mire, Mafume added. It was time the liberation generation accepted they had come to their wits' end and allowed others to take the country forward.
“We want to live the dream of our generation with leaders of our own generation. We cannot have a leadership that does not want to retire from office,” he said.
“People cannot be led by a leadership as represented by Tsvangirai whose best memories are the best price of beer in another country called Rhodesia, people whose memories are the colour of the women they used to date then.
“We want a new generation of leadership whose focus is on the economy. President Mugabe’s generation played its part in bringing political independence and we now need to move on. Zanu PF is full of old people, it’s like an old people’s home.”