Zitto must not let his 'big catch' turn into a thorn in the flesh

The opposition political party for Democracy and Development, Chadema, can arguably be the next victim of what is commonly known as ‘short-termism’ in the history of Tanzanian politics.

This managerial-cum-philosophical term simply means the concentration on short-term objectives for immediate profit at the expense of long-term interests.

It all started when the party, amidst much criticism, welcomed Mr Edward Lowassa and subsequently nominated him as a presidential candidate for the opposition coalition ‘Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi’ (Ukawa) in the 2015 elections.

Many analysts saw the move as not only a non-starter, but also adventurous. But Chadema leaders – save for its former secretary general, Dr Wilbroad Slaa and an insignificant number of others within and outside the party – dismissed these views as unfair, saying they did not take into account the nature of a political party. Their defence was understandable – if only because they were determined to seize the opportunity and remove CCM from State House.

Come the elections – and Mr Lowassa lost his bid for the highest Office in the land.

And in what may seem betrayal of his frequent assertions that he had no plans to rejoin his ‘Party of the Revolution,’ the ruling CCM, he did just that – with lots of fanfare from his erstwhile party comrades.

Surprised as they were, what Chadema stalwarts won’t admit is the short-termism character of their decision which, it must be said, was widely recognised and shared by many political leaders and pundits alike.

Let’s hit the fast-forward button to nearly four years later – and we seem to have another victim of the monstrous short-termism: the ACT-Wazalendo opposition party.

Last week, a goodly number of members of the Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad faction of the Civic United Front (CUF) defected to the ACT-Wazalendo party. Maalim Seif was the immediate-past CUF secretary general until he was peremptorily replaced by the faction led by Prof Ibrahim Lipumba as party chairman.

The fractious developments were precipitated by a decision of the High Court in Dar es Salaam, which ruled in favour of the Political Parties Registrar, Judge Francis Mutungi, saying that the retired Judge was right to recognise the otherwise embattled CUF chairman.

We won’t explain in depth the crisis within CUF here, as much of that is already in public domain. Suffice it here to say that – given that there is a similarity in the circumstances which forced the defections of both Mr Lowassa and Mr Hamad – one is sorely tempted to ask how can ACT-Wazalendo avoid becoming victim of short-termism, pray?

It must be understood that the shift by Mr Hamad and his Cuf comrades to ACT-Wazalendo cannot be said as being based on principles; built on strong beliefs in what the party stands for, and the vision of the society it intends to build.

Nor the ACT-Wazalendo party leader Zitto Kabwe welcomed the ‘pilgrims’ – as they are calling themselves – based on what they believe in, or their proposals in building a better, alternative society.

Was the move fortuitous? Yes. It is all about circumstances.

Had the High Court ruled otherwise – say, in favour of Mr Hamad – the defections could have been forestalled.

This became clear at a press conference where Mr Hamad announced his intention to join ACT-Wazalendo. The veteran politician informed the public that he and his colleagues had already decided on their next course should the High Court rule the way it did.

It is my conviction that there must be some elements of clientelism between Mr Hamad and Mr Kabwe. Both gentlemen may find my observation somewhat disturbing; but that’s what the circumstantial evidence indicates.

Although Mr Hamad, 75, remains mum over any intention to run for the Presidency of the semi-autonomous Zanzibar in the 2020 elections, all indications are that he will contest for the post. After being sacked from the ‘new’ CUF, ACT-Wazalendo provides the platform he needs in 2020.

As for Mr Kabwe: at 42 years, he is a young and ambitious politician determined to leave the legacy of building a party from scratch to national stature – complete with the ability to pose a real threat to the veteran ruling CCM. Of course, this will not be possible if he doesn’t get new members. But, in the event, Mr Hamad has the people needed.

It is a ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ game. But, this is where I see the danger of falling victim to short-termism arising. One good thing is that ACT-Wazalendo has somewhere to look to for a lesson – from Chadema – and it can, therefore, avoid the catastrophe if it will take concerted efforts accordingly. The Kabwe-Maalim partnership can organise and express a national/popular collective will to take on the long-reigning incumbent party. But, again, this can be accomplished only if the masses of peasant farmers and indifferent urban youths simultaneously scramble onto the political bandwagon as a group.

The bad news is that I can’t see ACT-Wazalendo engaging the two societal segments now. As both Mr Kabwe and Mr Hamad are overwhelmed with joy which comes with their ‘otherwise unexpected unification’ – and the prospects that are associated with the union – more will need to be done in engaging these two groups and others to make it institutional.

If the requisite efforts are not taken towards that direction now, #TheFutureIsBright traded by both Mr Hamad’s and Mr Kabwe’s teams will be nothing short of a miracle.

Khalifa Said is a political reporter with The Citizen.