MDC-T was one of the fringe parties that founded the
Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) when it was still under the leadership of
Thokozani Khupe in the aftermath of the July 2018 elections.
Mwonzora replaced Khupe as leader last December following
an extraordinary congress that was ordered by the Supreme Court.
Mnangagwa envisaged that Polad would bring together
political parties that participated in the polls, but in some circles it was
viewed as a manoeuvre to weaken MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa’s challenge
against the Zanu PF leader’s legitimacy.
Since then, Zanu PF and its leader have insisted that there
can be no dialogue with Chamisa outside Polad.
On the other hand, the MDC Alliance leader insists the
electoral dispute can only be resolved through bilateral talks between his
party and Zanu PF.
The dynamics seemed to change dramatically on Friday after
Mwonzora snubbed a Polad meeting convened by Mnangagwa. It was the outfit’s
first meeting following the MDC-T leadership changes.
Mwonzora’s spokesperson Witness Dube yesterday told The
Standard that the new MDC-T leader did not attend the meeting because they
preferred more inclusive dialogue beyond Polad.
“The MDC T president did not and will not attend Polad in
its current form,” Dube said.
“We are canvassing for a broad-based dialogue which will
include other stakeholders like churches, traditional leaders, labour bodies,
student bodies, other political parties that did not have presidential
candidates, captains of industry and all manner of Zimbabwean leadership in
their diversity.”
He, however, claimed that MDC-T had not pulled out of
Polad, saying Khupe had joined as a presidential candidate.
“We have not pulled out of Polad,” Dube said. “Our
understanding is that Thokozani Khupe went into the platform as a presidential
candidate.
“MDC-T as a party is now going to sit and give a policy
direction on its participation in Polad. “Political, economic and structural
conditions have drastically changed since the formation of Polad.
“So we now need a more enriched approach to national
questions, which includes other stakeholders outside 2018 presidential
candidates and their immediate parties.”
Mnangagwa on Friday waxed lyrical about the MDC-T,
describing it as patriotic and the official opposition party.
Austin Chakaodza, a Harare-based political analyst, said
Mwonzora’s stance on Polad could be influenced by the desire to protect his
image as Polad was discredited.
“After all, Polad is merely a talk shop going nowhere,”
Chakaodza said. “Mwonzora is struggling to seek widespread support from members
of his party and from the public.
He said MDC-T was right in calling for inclusive dialogue
as it was the only way to deal with Zimbabwe’s intractable economic and
political problems.
“All those interested in stopping the economic carnage,
political decay and decadence in this country should close ranks and
collaborate and demand for an inclusive national dialogue,” Chakaodza said.
“However, the dialogue should not be between the ruling
party and the MDC Alliance alone.
“It should be broad-based to include other stakeholders
such as business organisations, trade unions, women organisations, academics
and members of civil society. “Without including these sectors of society, no
meaningful dialogue will ever succeed.”
Former Industry minister Nkosana Moyo’s APA was one of the
first parties to pull out of Polad, describing it as an inappropriate platform
to solve the country’s problems.
Lovemore Madhuku, whose National Constitutional Assembly is
yet to win an election since its transition into a political party in 2013,
remains one of Polad’s prominent backers outside Zanu PF. Standard
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