With the calls for CCC MPs to disengage from parliament, other MPs have said out their concerns and journalist Hopewell Chin,ono had this to say:
Many CCC MPs have engaged me ,Their predicament lies not in being disloyal to the cause, but in the huge financial debts that they find themselves in after funding their own 2023 election campaigns.
They also argue that the disengagement move was done without consultation, so they were not prepared for it.
Many of them say that the very root cause of not consulting others in the party is what led to this crisis.
They also felt that I and other are being unfair to them when we castigate them for not leaving parliament after Nelson Chamisa’s announcement without paying attention to their financial obligations as these obligations may ruin their lives.
They argue that they don’t even know what is coming after departing from parliament.
I must concede to some of these pertinent and well made points that they and others have raised.
My good friend @Fromagehomme has also raised important points about the cost of moving away from parliament without a superior well thought-out plan, and he correctly says that it will weaken the fight against oppression.
I give way to these important points that Professors Nic Cheeseman Stephen Chan and others are raising.
One of the most respected political scientists and Harvard academic, Prof Steve Levisky said to me that you don’t willing give up political space unless you are doing so in order to step up the fight against your opponent on a different terrain.
What is to be done now after all these well meaning interventions.
I think Nelson Chamisa must engage his MPs and make his case based on collective engagement, they are his MPs and they have publicly declared their loyalty to his leadership.
I think they can dump the toxic vehicle called CCC, and instead of walking away from parliament, they should force the regime to push them out, that has more political capital to them and whatever they become in the aftermath.
I also think that since Nelson Chamisa is fighting for democracy, he should encourage his supporters to be loyal to the cause and not just an individual, that way he will have more power to move the political needle where it matters.
We are fighting against ZANUPF’s big man politics, the world shouldn’t see us replicating it in spaces where we have control.
He must also do an important introspective diagnosis to evaluate his own culpability in all this.
He can form a dozen political parties, but if he doesn’t self-correct, they will all similarly fall.
He can do this privately and the results can be seen in his new actions without posting a sorry post about his mistakes.
Yes, his adversary Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANUPF have everything to do with this crisis too, they are the main ingredient, but his political adversary exploited his strategic weaknesses…his Achilles Heel.
It would be extremely naive of him and his supporters to think that they are innocent victims without an iota of contribution to this mess.
A man or woman who doesn’t learn anything in 2 years of making mistakes would have lost 2 years of their life time, what is important is what we learn from our mistakes.
I also think that public shaming of these MPs online instead of engaging them in logical arguments creates a toxic environment.
Politics is more effective when you are more strategic than emotional, what I have seen on social media is more emotion and less strategy that looks into what every decision means in the positive and negative.
There are complex dynamics within CCC and its MPs stemming from financial pressures and a perceived lack of consultation.
Engaging MPs collectively, encouraging loyalty to the cause, and strategic planning is paramount for Nelson Chamisa and his group’s future success in whichever form or name they take.
Reflecting on internal weaknesses is a sign of strength not weakness, emphasising the need for strategic thinking over emotional reactions in political discourse makes you emerge stronger not weaker.
Happy weekend!
