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A nation of marchers

Opinion & Analysis
The opposition MDC-T will in the next fortnight hold a protest march in Mutare against what they see as the ruling Zanu PF’s mishandling of the economy.

The opposition MDC-T will in the next fortnight hold a protest march in Mutare against what they see as the ruling Zanu PF’s mishandling of the economy.

NewsDay Comment

MDCT Demo - 39

This comes barely a few days after another opposition demonstration was held in Bulawayo and Zanu PF’s million-man march.

The MDC-T also held another march in Harare and has threatened rolling demonstrations against the government, while Zanu PF has also said its million man-march shall become an annual event.

The biggest question for these parties, which deserves an answer, is so what after the marches?

While the two parties can brag about how many supporters they brought to the march, who was bussed and who has the better mobilising capacities, the biggest question is how this benefits Zimbabweans and what will come out of the marches.

Zanu PF and MDC-T have the right to demonstrate, but instead of this being a popularity contest, what Zimbabweans need to know is what the desired outcome of these is.

This was the same question that was asked of MDC-T when it began boycotting elections, saying it will not contest polls until the playing field was level.

Zanu PF ignored their concerns and swept all the by-elections before it and MDC-T’s protest seemed hollow and not fully thought out.

While the marches will show MDC-T’s popularity, they will soon wear down participants, as the objectives will be unknown at best and murky at worst.

Yes, MDC-T has legitimate issues that it is demonstrating against, but what happens in the event that Zanu PF ignores their concerns, introduces bond notes and the economy continues to tank.

The real risk to MDC-T’s strategy is apathy and disillusionment from its supporters if the status quo does not change in spite of the protests.

On the other hand, Zanu PF may have proved Mugabe’s popularity with their march, but when does this translate to tangible gains for Zimbabweans?

What Zimbabweans need at the moment is a government that is able to create an enabling environment for enterprise to thrive, curb corruption and create employment, and the showmanship of the million-man march falls far short of addressing what is needed.

Mugabe has his work cut out for him and engaging in popularity contests while the nation burns is far divorced from Zimbabweans’ needs.

Both Zanu PF and the MDC-T need to answer this very critical question about what happens after the marches, otherwise they shall remain meaningless.