Thread. MDC configuration

1/ Glaring issues abt MDC:
•It is institutionally weaker than under Tsvangirai.
•Top leadership is dogged by legitimacy Qns - Prez2 & VPs
•To sneak to the top, Chamisa destroyed its cadre of core loyalists
•Chamisa thrives on being the brand.

2/ Chamisa’s approach to politics is very much like Pentecostal preachers. It’s about the preacher not the church. Contrast the Catholic Church with say Magaya’s church.

Problem is: the party rises & falls on the strengths & weaknesses of the leader.

Worse, it’s not SCALABLE.

3/ Political Scalability.
For anything to scale, it must be structured to scale. STRUCTURE!

People know Bill Gates, but they know his Windows more.

Mugabe wld remain in the shadows for weeks, coming out once in a while. But Zanu structures worked on their own.

4/ Chamisa has some personal appeal to his followers.

That is his only political strength. He builds it by doggedly chasing personal appeal eg Maikoro moments.

His weakness: he is an incompetent organiser; is clueless on building structure.

This is why it can’t be scaled.

5/ Personal Growth v Structure.

Because he thrives on building his brand and not the orgn, this leaves the MDC gasping for breath. MDC was the first opposition party to field candidates in all constituencies.

But in 2018, it failed to even field enough polling agents.

6/ For example, the 2018 election was about him winning. Nothing else mattered. Parliament was a distant priority. Nobody thought about the problem if Zanu PF got 2 thirds majority, which it did. How was he going to govern?

The result? This map

7/ What’s the difference?
•Zanu PF is designed as an octopus. Much like a robust network marketing ecosystem. It’s activities rapidly drill down to its smallest units - cells!
•M/W, in MDC only Chamisa is king. Nothing happens unless he shows up in Checheche or Mbire.

8/ How did we get here?

MDC committed what I call in politics THE ORIGINAL SIN.
•Tsvangirai undermined the constitution. 0/10 for constitutionalism.
•Chamisa started plotting soon after, sending Joanna Mamombe. 0/10 on governance.
•Chamisa sneaked in thru the window 0/10

9/ What does it mean?

It means MDC has no modicum of credibility left. None, zilch!
•Zero credibility on constitutionalism.
•zero credibility on good governance.
•zero credibility in probity - $2mln is missing.

It’s a mess.

10/ What about the lies?
• At H/Court, Komichi lied that Mashavira was using wrong constitution.
•At S/Court, MDC lawyers conceded it was the right constitution.
•Now MDC top officials have resorted to blatant lying - Welshman, Biti, @hwendec, Coltart
It’s a disgrace!

11/ Will the lies help?

Chamisa himself has developed a reputation for lying, about Trump, on BBC, in SA, etc.

He has turned out to be a SERIAL LIAR. Each time he opens his mouth, a lie escapes.

Sadly, you can’t lie your way out of a constitutional judgment & extant order.

12/ In short.

The MDC is neither structured nor properly led to either defeat its more structured opponent or lead Zimbabwe or both.

To do so, it needs root to branch redesign.

In addition, it must purge itself of the original sin.

Can it fix its current nightmare?

13/ What to do?

MDC & Chamisa both have a Chance now to correct this mess. However it’s a small window, very narrow.

•First he must comply with the court order.
•he should make a big speech conceding his errors, reconfirming MDC values & submitting to the constitution.

14/ Will he do the right thing?

It remains to be seen. But IMO, judging by the way he’s continuously disgraced himself, I doubt he’s capable of doing the right thing.

He doesn’t hv ka that, u know that leadership pedigree required to do what must be done

That’s sad
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