Media Statement|28 MAY 2019
MDC CONGRESS BRINGS NO HOPE FOR MTHWAKAZI
The Zimbabwe’s official opposition party held it’s party Congress in Gweru on the 24th of May to the 27th, the first since the death of it’s founding President Dr Morgan Tsvangirai. The Congress despite some loopholes as well as obvious and glaring omissions is good for democracy in Zimbabwe.
The major problem with the MDC Congress is that it completely failed to deal with tribal balancing, or better still to fix the perceived Matabeleland segregation as well as tribal balancing. The MDC failed the people of Bulawayo after they rigged their own internal processes to favour a foreign leadership at the expense of locals. On it’s own a breach of the Devolution concept.
Even their Youths and Women’s assemblies both failed to accommodate people from Mthwakazi. It must be understood and be remembered that over the years Matabeleland people have complained against the Shona tribal domination. In 1999 a lot of people from Mthwakazi fully embraced the idea of an all inclusive democratic party which was Called Movement for Democratic Change, former ZAPU and ZANU PF members from Mthwakazi joined MDC and Matabeleland become the party’s stronghold.
The leadership of the original MDC had a lot of uMthwakazi people, once they realized that the MDC could be a ruling party because of the support it had, Shona tribalists started their tribal campaign inciting violence against Matabeleland leaders using their Shona Majority, the same way the Shona people did to ZAPU as well as ZANU PF leading to the 2005 split that was influenced by tribalism.
Over the years the MDC has been reduced to a mere tribal party that represents the interests of Mashonaland.
The just ended Congress did not help matters it only saved to make it clear who is in charge and who is there to help. In Bulawayo both the party leadership and local government is in the hands of Mashonaland people.
These and other issues not stated here has since increased the call for a Matabeleland/Mthwakazi political party that is all inclusive and democratic that is capable of advancing the interests of Mthwakazi people without any compromises. It has been proven over the years that both the ZANU PF party and MDC are the same when it comes to Matabeleland issues hence the need for us to organize ourselves and do it ourselves.
Mthwakazi Republic Party MRP has been identified by many as the best alternative, provided the party is willing to re-strategise, re-package it’s campaign literature, re constitute it’s structural setup, be willing to accommodate people who previously belonged to other parties or were not in agreement with certain decisions and arrangements made by the party.
The party’s cadres deployed at National and Provincial structures are expected to pull up their socks to make sure the party’s grassroots structures are in place. Many people have shown great interest in joining the people’s revolutionary party MRP. Clearly both MDC and ZANU PF doesn’t have the interests of Mthwakazi at heart hence the need for uMthwakazi to rethink and change their allegiance to the other alternative.
The election of Prof Ncube and Thabitha Khumalo into the presidium of MDC is not different from that of ZANU PF’s Kembo Mohadi and Obert Mpofu it’s more of a ceremonial position meant for tribal balancing yet real power rests and abides elsewhere.
It would be up to the leadership of MRP and Mthwakazi people locally and abroad to understand the threats poised to us by the Two Harare parties and do their best to thwart any attempts to destroy Mthwakazi. The ball is in our courts now to stop the MDC and ZANU PF from dominating us wrongfully.
MRP your country needs you
Cde Mbonisi Solomon Gumbo is a founding member of MRP writing in his personal capacity.