When the word renewal first emerged it merely entailed the need for to bring the MDC congress earlier that earmarked by the constitution (2016). This was necessitated by a number of reasons with which everyone agreed. It was not, as it is now falsely and conveniently claimed by our erstwhile colleagues, that we were impatient couldnt wait for Congress or that we were power hungry, NO. The need to bring congress closer was not only self evident, it is properly provided for in the partys constitution and generally practised the world over. After the devastating July 31 result, we all agreed to look at the state of the party, the efficacy of our strategies , messages and policies, the effectiveness of our leadership among other issues. And the question of an early congress was not even debatable. Instead debate centred on whether it should be an early or an extraordinary one. This is the context in which the word renewal was first used in reference to that group of people who wanted congress to come earlier. However, since the advent of Elton Mangomas letter, the word renewal has gradually evolved to transcend its original meaning. Renewal has become more than merely changing the leadership of the MDC or reviewing its approach, strategies or political culture. The word renewal now entails the need to re-enegize the entire base of the whole democratic discourse and its attendant movement that includes but is not limited to other political parties, civil society, churches, labour, students, women and youth groups to name but a few. This is after the realization of a very basic concept that: you cannot do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Empirical evidence from all recent by elections shows clearly that our strategy is not working. The democratic movement can no longer afford to continue with strategies and tactics of 1999. The context is now different, the opponent (ZANU PF) has adopted new strategies over the years and the national agenda has changed. Accordingly, all Democratic forces need to review and renew their strategies and tactics, their narrative and even their outlook. You can no longer say we have engaged the people merely by throwing fliers, pasting posters, holding public meetings or rallies. The people are now fairly aware of their human rights and of ZANU PFs transgressions and they are quite alive to the reason why this country is in the mess that it is. While this must continue to be reiterated, the time has come for the need to address both the political but also the economic problems of the people. It is not enough merely to explain beautiful economic blueprints that one will implement when they come to power, you have to demonstrate your capacity by doing small things in the communities such as sinking boorholes, creating projects for youth and women etc. Thi
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 03:56:45 +0000