BULAWAYO South MP Eddie Cross has disclosed that he has
been advised by his family and grandchildren to retire from politics at 77
because he has cancer, as does his MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
He said this in an interview with The Standard following
uproar over his public statements on Tsvangirai’s state of health and his
political future.
Cross said despite his prostate cancer condition (also
diagnosed last year) and pleas by his family that he retires from his business
and quit politics, he is not prepared to leave politics just yet as he feels he
still needs to help transform Zimbabwe.
He said when he gave his advice, through his blog post that
Tsvangirai must take a rest if his health condition deteriorates; the advice
was coming from deep down his heart as a person who was also afflicted by
cancer and knew its dangers. He was also speaking as a realist who believed in
truth, he said.
“I believe that the person that has high command to win
elections now is Morgan Tsvangirai, but we must also look at that if his
medical condition becomes difficult that he is unable to do that, and then we
have to be honest and think about what to do,” Cross said.
“Tsvangirai is my president and I will support whatever
decision he takes, but if I was his late wife Susan, whom I knew very well, and
she was a fantastic person, I would say to Morgan it is time to take a rest and
let someone finish off.
“My family has said the same to me that I must not stand
again for elections because last year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and
my doctor said I should undergo treatment for the next two years. However, the
cancer is not yet impacting seriously on my life and it is not my decision to
leave politics. I am committed to changing Zimbabwe.”
Cross said he could not make a decision for Tsvangirai, and
if the former prime minister wanted to continue, then the MDC-T membership
needed to strengthen the structures around him to lessen the burden on him.
“We have always relied on Tsvangirai’s leadership, strength
and energy, especially after the situation in 2005 when three quarters of
leadership abandoned him,” Cross said.
“However, he picked up the whole party after the disastrous
elections and restored confidence in the MDC alone. In 2013 the same thing
happened with Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma abandoning him, but he exhibited
faith in himself and picked up the pieces and all of us have been depending on
him.”
He said as a realist, he felt that Tsvangirai’s medical
condition was unfair after he fought for democracy for 22 years since 1995.
“He is clearly more popular than President Robert Mugabe
and I believe with free and fair elections he will win by more than 75%. My
article was based on that it is tragic and life is not fair because his health
is letting him down,” Cross said.
He said the same tragedy could be said of Vice President
Emmerson Mnangagwa who stood by Mugabe’s side for 40 years, but now he was
being persecuted by his own party Zanu PF.
Cross said people had been wrongfully describing him as a
controversial person.
“In my political life I try to be honest and objective and
I try to speak in the national interest rather than parochial interest. For
that reason, I have found that groups with specific, rather than national
interests often attack me. It was the same during the Rhodesian era. I joined
the national struggle in 1975 while I was at the University of Zimbabwe and I
felt that no whites were speaking on behalf of black rights,” Cross said.
“I articulated what was unjust and for that reason I became
ostracised. It was not pleasant. I was referred to by the Rhodesian Minister of
Justice Lardemer Burke as a threat to society. I am not controversial but I am
a realist and believe in speaking out the truth.”
Speaking of his fellow whites in Zimbabwe, Cross said: “I
believe whites have to earn the right to be considered Zimbabwean and I think
many of my colleagues are still racist. I am part of the failed generation of
whites, but the next generation of whites will be different and I foresee the
transition in the next five years.”
On the Ndebele leaders’ issue which courted the ire of many
people from Matabeleland, Cross said it was counterproductive to concentrate on
tribal issues as all people in this country were Zimbabwean.
“There is a deliberate government policy to virtually wipe
out Ndebele culture, and it is true, but it cannot be resolved by creating a
regional hegemony for Bulawayo and Matabeleland. That is why I believe in the
MDC-T because it is a national movement and commands support of all tribes and
regions.
“If this goes unchecked Ndebele hegemony can create a
threat which could result in the country being torn apart. South Africa now
could be thrown apart by ethnic issues as its politics has become very ethnic,”
Cross said. Standard
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