Speaking to the Daily News On Sunday yesterday, Chebundo —
who surprisingly defected to the ruling Zanu PF together with Lillian Timveous
last week — said he had become increasingly disillusioned with the goings-on in
the strife-torn MDC.
He also said that he had no regrets in crossing the floor
to Zanu PF to join hands with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom he had twice
beaten in Parliamentary elections as an opposition stalwart.
“I respect the current leadership of the MDC (now led by Douglas
Mwonzora) … for their efforts in approaching national issues of concern in a
non-confrontational manner … That is being responsible.
“However, there is still a very long way to go for the
party to recover the political formula and matrix of (the MDC’s much-loved but
now late president Morgan) Tsvangirai’s leadership.
“The power dynamics, the intra and inter-factional
denigrations, blame games, etc, are not healthy for the party,” Chebundo told
the Daily News On Sunday.
“I got disturbed to see the leadership of current MDC
groupings leading at different tangents to the ideas of the 12-member pioneer
group, as led by the late (MDC co-founder and deputy president Gibson) Sibanda
and Tsvangirai.
“I always got angry and frustrated … hence I began to monologue
on how best for me to contribute, even in a small way towards the emancipation
of the country and its citizens.
“Then, the big question for me was from which angle or
platform (to do this), given the obtaining political environment of
polarisation in the country, especially in the opposition.
“Bitter or sweet, I realised that I can only do that as a
member of the party (Zanu PF), driving the developmental agenda of the
country,” Chebundo further told the Daily News On Sunday.
“Indeed, it was a difficult decision given my political
background and experiences. But sometimes difficult decisions ought to be made,
and made by people in high positions if good things for the country are to be
realised … hence I moved,” he added.
The former Kwekwe Central legislator also said the MDC had
been on a downward spiral ever since the death of its much-loved leader
Tsvangirai — who succumbed to cancer of the colon on Valentine’s Day three
years ago.
He said this was primarily due to the lack of leadership in
the main opposition party.
“It’s all about leadership failure, poor strategies,
factionalism and the ‘I know-it-all’ attitude of the leadership. My honest
assessment is that the opposition’s power graph has been sliding downwards
significantly since the death of Tsvangirai and it worsened post the 2018
elections mainly due to a poor decision matrix by leadership, especially post
the 2019 congress of the MDC Alliance faction.
“The Supreme Court judgment also fuelled the situation,
although the graph is slightly promising to pick up on the MDC side (after the
election of Douglas Mwonzora as its new leader),” Chebundo told the Daily News
On Sunday.
“By the way, when we talk about serious opposition in
Zimbabwe, we are mainly referring to the MDC. So, it’s all about effects of
decision-making.
“Zvinhu zvacho hazvidi ‘ndini chete chete ndinoziva’.
Dzimwe nhambo nyaudzo singwi haasi maresults (Some of these things do not need
the ‘it’s only me who knows’ attitude, and oratory ability is not results).
“As they say, a roaring lion kills no one. You cannot
achieve anything by just talking proverbs. So, opposition is not dead, but
needs serious internal overhaul otherwise it will die,” Chebundo further let
rip.
He said he had been in the MDC from the day it was formed,
and had been greatly pained by the recent turn of events in the country’s main
opposition party.
“Indeed I am a founding member of MDC then in its original
form in 1999, as led by the late Gibson Sibanda, with the late Morgan Richard
Tsvangirai as secretary-general.
“The pioneering planning meetings leading to the formation
of MDC were held in my office at Saint Andrews House, Leopold Takawira,
Zimbabwe Chemical Plastics and Allied Workers Union — where I was the political
head for administration and finance, with Remus Makuwaza as secretary-general.
“At the inaugural congress in February 2000, Tsvangirai
became president and Sibanda vice president, after a negotiated settlement for
these positions, and I was part of those consulted and who supported this
arrangement,” Chebundo told the Daily News On Sunday.
This comes as political analysts, including respected
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Eldred Masunungure, have
described the move by Timveous and Chebundo as “a godsend” for Mnangagwa and
Zanu PF.
“In Chebundo, we are talking about someone with real
political capital, having previously defeated Mnangagwa in the 2000 and 2005
parliamentary elections.
“So, it is a momentous development that will help the
incumbent to consolidate his power base in Midlands. It is normal that leaders
would want to build their power bases from their home provinces before
spreading their tentacles elsewhere.
“Mnangagwa wants to be seen as having united the people
from his home area to rally behind him after getting the likes of Timveous to
his side. It will work wonders for him,” Masunungure said.
The highly regarded political commentator also warned that
this latest development in the MDC could open floodgates for more defections to
the ruling party in the near future.
“The development will also send shock waves within the
opposition support base because it is a strategic issue, and there is likely
going to be continued migration to Zanu PF. There is therefore a need for
Nelson Chamisa to re-strategise to counteract that,” Masunungure added.
In November last year, Zanu PF also welcomed former
Masvingo Urban legislator, Tongai Matutu, to its ranks — with the former MP
also decrying the chaos ravaging the opposition.Stephen Chan, a professor of
World Politics at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African
Studies said with the ructions that have consumed the MDC since the death of
Tsvangirai in 2018, the current mass exodus of senior party officials was not
surprising.
“In a way, it’s only surprising that defections of this
sort haven’t happened earlier. As the opposition feuds within itself, and as
Zanu PF conducts a behind-the-scenes defection diplomacy, it is likely more
will defect in the future.
“There is prestige and funding available in politics. In opposition
politics, however, foreign funders are increasingly disillusioned by the
unending bitterness that the splits have engendered.
“It may be that Chamisa retains some viability as a
presidential candidate, more so than Douglas Mwonzora, but I foresee both MDCs
having a reduced place in Parliament after the next elections,” Chan said.
Daily News
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