By Moses Ziyambi
The Movement for Democratic Change’s Renewal Team leadership headed by former party secretary general Tendai Biti took turns in attacking their former president Morgan Tsvangirai at a meeting held in Masvingo over the weekend.
Addressing people gathered at the Civic Centre, for what was dubbed the ‘Youth-Student Public Meeting’ the renewal team leadership berated Tsvangirai for participating in last year’s elections when agreed conditions for holding credible elections had not been met.
The grouping’s treasurer Elton Mangoma said Tsvangirai had no one to blame for losing elections as he was the one who stampeded the country into elections.
Mangoma also assured the gathering that Tsvangirai’s political carrier had come to an end.
“There is nowhere else that man (Tsvangirai) will ever go, he is finished. Some say he will resurrect, but the last time I checked, only Jesus resurrected. Tsvangirai will never resurrect”, declared Mangoma.
He also emphasised the need to create quality education for the country’s youth as the solution to the country’s lack of development. He attacked the indigenisation drive being championed by the ruling Zanu PF government, saying the programme has enriched a few and blocked foreign direct investment.
“They deliberately misinterpreted our opposition to indigenisation to mean we are opposed to empowerment of the people. We want broad-based economic empowerment for the benefit of all. There is inherent greed. Indigenisation in its current form will not succeed”, he said.
“There is no nation that has succeeded without educating its people. South Korea was the same as Zimbabwe some fifty to sixty years ago but it is now in the top fifty in the world technologically because they educated their people”, said Mangoma.
Jeffreson Chitando is among top officials in the Renewal Team
Taking to the podium later, Biti lambasted what he called a crises of leadership in both Zanu PF and MDC-T that has led to the rigging of elections and perpetuation of the political and economic crisis.
“I have talked about a crisis of leadership and political crisis in this country. Zanu was always going to rig but some people must take responsibility for letting that happen. President Zuma told Tsvangirai that he was not supposed to go for an election but he was adamant only to cry later saying takarohwa nezveusiku”, said Biti.
He further said the Renewal Team was looking beyond the old ways of dealing with Zanu PF as those had failed.
“When dealing with dictators like Zanu, you have to be strategic in how you remove them. We have spent the last fifteen years playing quantitative politics. The election of 2013 showed us that we need much, much more than quantitative politics. Tsvangirai is still playing draft while we are already playing chess”, said Biti.
The meeting was attended by around 150 people including some former MDC-T legislators for Masvingo Central (Jeffryson Chitando), Gutu Central (Oliver Chirume), Zaka North (Ernest Mudavanhu) and Masvingo Urban (Tongai Matutu).
