Mlondolozi Ndlovu
The leader of Zimbabwe’s largest opposition leader, MDC-T Morgan Tsvangirai has revealed that he is not threatened by the new Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) party led by his former Secretary General Tendai Biti.
The PDP, formerly called the MDC Renewal is a breakaway formation from the MDC-T and had its first congress in Harare last week.
Speaking in a live interview on ZiFM the opposition leader claimed that there was no reason for him to lose sleep over the newly formed PDP as it was the norm in politics that parties split.
‘When you say threatened, what do you mean? Even in the nationalist movements they were splits and I see no reason for worrying about individuals who form their parties’ he said.
Mr Tsvangirai said he was only worried about leading the people of Zimbabwe into a new democratic dispensation, distancing himself from any worries about his former colleagues.
‘I am not threatened by Biti. Instead I am disappointed at a person who forms a party for the sake of forming a party’ said the opposition leader who has been at the helm of the MDC for the past 16 years.
Asked on what he wants to be remembered for after failing to dislodge President Mugabe, Tsvangirai said he will be remembered for having steered a democratic process in Zimbabwe.
On his pension benefits in which he is living in a government house 2 years after the GNU, in which he was the Prime Minister, Tsvangirai said they was no problem with him staying in the house since it was part of his benefits.
‘I deserve the house as part of my benefits. I have not written to anyone demanding these benefits but look if we could give the same benefits to Abel Muzorewa and Ian Smith, why deny the same to Morgan Tsvangirai’ he said.
Tsvangirai revealed that he will participate in the 2018 elections unless they are reforms but said he was very sure that by that time the reforms would have been completed.
He also confirmed that he was having talks with Joyce Mujuru but denied coalition claims saying Mujuru had no party hence they was no coalition to talk about at the moment.
The interview conducted by Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa a ZIFM presenter, was a first of its kind in which a leader of an opposition party is interviewed on national radio.
