The Herald
December 8 2010
WORD doing the rounds is that there is a lot of gnashing of teeth and rumbling of bowels in certain quarters of the inclusive Government and their sidekicks who grew fat on the back of engorging the West’s filthy lucre over the past decade as Uncle Sam’s willing cat paws. So deep is the fear that even some long forgotten acquaintances from the college days, now call for idle chat before asking, in an offhand manner, whether there has been anything new from WikiLeaks.
Some of these people worked with the West to impose economic sanctions on our country, compiled lists of people to be put on travel sanctions and generally fed the West with all sorts of concocted horror stories and fabricated reports all in a bid to tar and feather this beautiful country.
With reports that WikiLeaks has in its possession 2 998 cables on Zimbabwe falling in three categories "secret", "classified" and "unclassified", with the one by Dell being from the ‘‘classified’’ group, many wait to see what the 39 classified as "secret", the 1 542 "classified" and 1 417 in the "unclassified" categories have to tell us about the cats that ate the canary over the past 10 years.
Well, you made your beds guys, so you must lie on them be they beds of roses or beds of nails.
We need to know the source of the cloud that does not bear water, as Albert Nyathi would put it.
Well, one man is already on his bed and he appears non-plussed that it has six-inch nails. His name is Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.
Dell described him as ‘‘a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him’’. These shortcomings, we are told, make Tsvangirai an albatross around the MDC-T’s neck.
But then is Dell wrong in his assessment of Tsvangirai? Based on my knowledge of the man over the past 10 years, I would say Dell is spot on though he could have added many more adjectives.
Tsvangirai has numerous flaws, chief among them his quisling nature, the propensity towards sellout politics that saw him become a willing vessel for Western interests and the interests of white commercial farmers at the expense of his fellow black Zimbabweans. The man also has a sickening tendency of going back on his word to the extent that even diehard MDC-T supporters do not know where he stands on critical issues as he reportedly remembers the advice of the last person he would have spoken to.
Tsvangirai has also displayed shocking indecision that makes him unfit for high office which at times demands hard decisions. How many times have we seen Tsvangirai announce a boycott of an election he would go on to contest? We saw him dither over joining the inclusive Government only to do so in a huff after the US embassy told him to join government. In 2005, Tsvangirai dawdled over contesting the Senate elections and asked his party to put the matter to the vote saying he would be bound by the party decision. When the party voted to contest, Tsvangirai stormed out of the meeting and hastily convened a Press conference at his house in Strathaven where he claimed the MDC had voted to boycott the elections.
As for questionable judgment in selecting the company he keeps. We all know he would rather spend more time in London or Washington than in Lusaka or Tshwane. In the run-up to the presidential run-off in 2008, Tsvangirai claimed his life was in danger and made a beeline for the Dutch embassy in Harare, passing numerous African embassies along the way. It was completely lost to him that his choice of refuge buttressed the view that he is a Western puppet. No one with good judgment would have done what he did.
These are just a few examples to show that Dell’s assessment is spot on. There are many other examples that could not be highlighted here that no amount of make-up can mask on Tsvangirai.
Anyway judging by his response to the WikiLeaks expose, Tsvangirai is more than an albatross, he is a curse not only to MDC-T but to Zimbabwe in general.
Speaking through the Minister of State in his office, and in his capacity as Prime Minister, Tsvangirai was quoted as saying he was not bothered and did not give a hoot about the low opinion expressed by his American handlers.
Timba claimed Uncle Sam’s opinion was at variance with the opinion of Zimbabweans as expressed on March 29 2008, when his party played second fiddle to Zanu-PF on the popular vote though he led President Mugabe in the first round of the presidential contest.
Tsvangirai apparently thinks March 29 was an expression of confidence in his leadership abilities and not an expression of the desperation of an electorate that had been squeezed dry by the ravages of economic sanctions that left not only shop shelves but pockets and tummies virtually empty. If he genuinely believes that, then it only serves to confirm the accuracy of Dell’s assessment, the man has questionable judgment.
What is ironic here is that for a man who claims he got a vote of confidence on March 29 2008, Tsvangirai is showing amazing fear of elections.
What Tsvangirai appears to miss from the WikiLeaks expose is the fact that the US has laid ownership to him, his party and its agenda making him a virtual puppet on the US’ string. Uncle Sam made him, so he can destroy him the same way he made Saddam, used him before hanging him when he begun thumping his nose at them.
Any leader worth his salt would be very bothered if he is exposed that he is not his own man, but not so for Morgan, he has been in the game for too long it no longer bothers him.
It’s all in a day’s work for him.
While quisling politics may not bother Tsvangirai, it does bother right thinking Zimbabweans who know that leaders are not followers. They are not flawed; they are open to advice, are decisive and are blessed with sound judgement when deciding for the people.
Tsvangirai’s attitude is thus very worrying. It shows he is beyond redemption.
caesar.zvayi@zimpapers.co.zw
