2005-10-28,+MDC,+mediation+and+fighting,+Muleya,+B+Day

Business Day, Johannesburg, News, 2005/10/27 12:00:00 AM

= MDC seeks mediator’s help to resolve leadership crisis =

Prominent academic called in to help heal rift over election participation that has opened up between camps led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube

Dumisani Muleya, Harare Correspondent

IN A bid to avert a break-up, Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic (MDC) has appointed prominent academic Prof Brian Raftopoulos as mediator in its internal crisis.

The endorsement of Raftopoulos as intermediary came as the MDC teetered on the verge of a split. It also follows the rejection of President Thabo Mbeki’s mediation efforts last week.

Reconciliation talks between the Tsvangirai and Ncube factions are expected to start today.

Prospects for a negotiated settlement in the MDC also came as party MP Job Sikhala backtracked on allegations his party leadership was not fighting for power, but for donor funds.

Sikhala had alleged the MDC was given $2,5m by Taiwan, Nigeria and Ghana in violation of the Political Parties Finance Act.

However, yesterday he said the police, who have moved to probe the allegations after being set on the issue by ministers, were on a “wild goose chase” as they were investigating a “political statement”.

“There are hardened criminals all over the places killing innocent people and hijacking their cars. Some of them have killed MDC supporters but are still roaming the streets. Police must direct their energies and resources in investigating such things,” he said.

“If they want to probe a political statement they can go ahead, but it will be wild goose chase. Why are they not investigating the genuine issue of Zanu (PF) getting money from Libya, China and SA?”

Tsvangirai’s spokesman had described Sikhala as a “psychiatric case” over the funding claims. Sikhala said he was not interested in “name-calling”.

The MDC is sharply divided into two major camps over next month’s senate election.

The factions, headed by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and secretary-general Welshman Ncube, are now locked in a fierce power struggle triggered by the election issue.

The MDC national executive council voted 33 to 31 for participation in the election two weeks ago. Two ballots were spoilt.

However, Tsvangirai overruled the council, claiming entering such elections “breed illegitimate outcomes”. Ncube’s camp argued boycotting the poll would be “political suicide” as it would render the party irrelevant.

Sources said following Tsvangirai’s admission on Tuesday that his party was facing a “political crisis which needs a political solution”, there had been frantic efforts to resolve the infighting.

“There are a lot of initiatives being explored to sort out the MDC crisis. Prof Raftopoulos has been selected to mediate in the problem,” a senior MDC official said yesterday.

MDC deputy secretary Gift Chimanikire confirmed there were efforts to bring both factions to the negotiating table by “concerned stakeholders”.

“There are serious attempts to intervene in the MDC crisis and broker dialogue,” he said.

“Several intermediaries, including church leaders, have been coming to us to initiate dialogue and we are ready to talk to end the problem.”

However, Chimanikire said there would be “no negotiating on the MDC’s founding principles and its constitution”.

“Those who violated the party constitution should know that talks cannot be about MDC principles and its constitution. We (the Ncube faction) are not willing to negotiate that,” he said.

“We should be talking about how we can resolve this crisis and uphold the MDC constitution and principles. It is clear to us we cannot negotiate whether or not to respect the party constitution.”

Opinion & Analysis: Page 15

From: http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/TarkArticle.aspx?ID=1739297

Business Day, Johannesburg, Opinion, 27 October 2005 = Zimbabwe’s MDC set to go down fighting ... itself = Dumisani Muleya

ZIMBABWE’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is locked in increasingly self-destructive political combat. The party seems determined to go down — fighting itself!

The current internal war in the MDC has been proceeding at low intensity for some time, but escalated three weeks ago following a dispute over participation in next month’s senate election.

The party’s national executive council voted 33 to 31 for participation in the election. Two ballots were spoilt.

However, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled rank and overruled the council, saying that entering such elections breeds “illegitimate outcomes”.

Welshman Ncube, MDC secretary-general, argued that boycotting the poll would be political suicide as it would render the party irrelevant. This triggered a battle of wills between the Tsvangirai and Ncube camps.

At face value, the crisis assumes an ethnic character because Tsvangirai leads a Shona-dominated faction, whilst Ncube heads a largely Ndebele camp.

But the central issues have nothing to do with tribalism. The crisis in the MDC is due mainly to structural tensions resulting from its failure to balance competing interests. The conflict is also about leadership and policy differences. There are compelling questions being asked about Tsvangirai’s leadership qualities.

The MDC’s obvious lack of ideological cohesion is another sticking point. Modern politics is a fight of ideas. Any party’s ideology is vital in shaping and defining it.

A cursory look at the MDC’s short history reveals that it emerged from the trade union and civic movement in 1999. The party was an eclectic mix of trade unions, civic organisations, business associations, pressure groups, professionals, farmers and students. The MDC was in essence a creature of Zanu (PF) failures. President Robert Mugabe’s ineptitude provided conditions for the MDC to emerge.

After winning almost half the contested seats in the national elections in 2000 (57 of 120), the MDC, largely due to a hostile political environment and internal weaknesses, failed to evolve into a cohesive unit. It also did not come up with credible policies.

The party failed to recruit some of Zimbabwe’s best minds, and this explains its intellectual poverty, its policy inadequacies and its leadership limitations.

Now, Tsvangirai cannot rise to the challenge to rescue his party from its self-destruction.

Leadership is a process of policy and administrative decisions, particularly under difficult conditions. It is the leader’s responsibility to hold his party together — to act as a referee and ensure disputes do not impair or destroy the organisation. But instead of being umpire, Tsvangirai has reduced himself to faction leader.

If he had stayed neutral and mediated successfully in the crisis, his rating would have increased. Leading a faction and engaging in dogfights has damaged his credibility.

If the party splits, it will be a tremendous waste of the courageous challenge it has presented to the Mugabe regime for the past five years. The MDC plucked up enough courage to enter into Zimbabwe’s cutthroat politics, and to fight the ruling Zanu (PF). As a result, the MDC and its supporters suffered endless bouts of state-sponsored political violence, beatings, arrests, detentions, torture, and death. Tsvangirai, Ncube and agriculture secretary Renson Gasela escaped treason convictions, while party members were subjected to relentless harassment. Against all these odds, the MDC almost defeated Zanu (PF), twice.

But now — unless something dramatic happens — the party seems headed for a breakup.

‖Muleya is Business Day’s Harare correspondent and Zimbabwe Independent news editor.

From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A106438