Tsvangirai Capitulates Again

Despite evidence that ZANU PF instigated the disruption of the Allskateholders Conference, yesterday, the PM says that it is "neither here nor there"

Robert "The Solution" Mugabe, sly customer that he is, essentially backed his party's position on the disruption of the Constitutional Conference yesterday, while Prime Minister Tsvangirai distanced himself from that of his own party.

Take special note of the following comments at the press conference by Mugabe:

"We are Zimbabweans, with one National Anthem, one Flag and one destiny."


He was of course referring to the ZANU PF claim that the Speaker of Parliament came into hall waving an MDC salute, that the Speaker and the Clerk of Parliament refused to allow the National Anthem to be sung.

Mugabe said he would "brook no further nonsense" at the Conference.
The Prime Minister, who had been with Mugabe at an explosive meeting at the State House in Harare, said "pointing fingers is neither here nor there", even as his party issued a statement laying the blame squarely on ZANU PF shoulders.


Tsvangirai also told the press that he wanted to "associate myself with comments made by His Excellency". Which he duly did by dismissing the claims of his party and saying it was all neither here nor there.

Contrast this with Mugabe's statements and you see what really is beneath all this.

Tsvangirai is keen not to defend his party especially seeing as it is being accused of disrespecting the National Anthem, the flag and the neutrality of the Conference when it comes to political parties.

As I told you last night, Mugabe and Tsvangirai also claim that they had not been invited to the event and were only told that their presence was required after the proccedings had already started.

It is a rather disingenuous position to take and defend, but that is what the two men say.


Mugabe's idea of unity is that the MDCs and everybody else must unite behind the ZANU PF "vision". The Prime Minister, as we have ample evidence of now, appears to agree with this view, so as not to rock the boat.


Like it or not, the bottom line is that this is yet another example of the Prime Minister capitulating to Mugabe's agenda.


Mugabe did not once address the grievances of the people at the press conference, namely that the Kariba Draft; draconian, tailor-made for a dictatorial and overbearing government, should not be the sole basis upon which this process rests.

The Prime Minister is not pressing home this point.

He has become very good at double-speak, telling each audience what it wants to hear, like his comments two weeks ago that all drafts should be put on the table.

The NCA Draft is not on the table. The ZCTU Draft is not on the table. The input gathered by the Women's coalitions have been ignored.

The truth is that, as a visiting professor from the London School of Economics told Dr Simba Makoni at the end of June, the MDC-T wants the Kariba Draft because they would like to enjoy the same dictatorial powers that ZANU PF and Mugabe enjoy now when they eventually take over the country.

Although it is clear from the grassroots that the MDC-T, because of its leader, is unlikely to win the next election, the opposition party clings still to this hope.