By Ray Nhongo
In many ways, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has proved to be a strange and complicated political party. The party is relatively new, but old; weak but also strong and for the bystander, a party lacking any form of strategy and yet somehow managing to get more than a 1/3 of Zimbabwe's parliamentary votes and more than 45% of the Presidential votes (by official figures).
There is no denying that CCC is an important political player in Zimbabwe for at least the time being and the near future. However, there are clear concerns about the effectiveness of its current strategies and tactics that need to be addressed. You see, in as much as a neutral person may find their election perfomance somewhat impressive, the generality of Zimbabweans consider it a disaster - and for good reason.
Zimbabweans have witnessed a country run by ZANU PF for 43 years and have since gotten sick of it to the point that they just want change, just something different for once. Coming second, therefore, is not good enough for CCC's supporters.
One may think that they are being too harsh to CCC, a party that is barely two years old but their grievancs are actually a bit justified. Like I said in the beginning, CCC is both old and new. The party name, symbol and other things are new but the people, the way of doing things and so forth are actually a bit old - like 23 years old. Indeed, the August 2023 election was actually the second time that CCC (formed in 2021) leader, Nelson Chamisa lost an election to ED Mnangagwa having done so for the first time 5 years earlier, in 2018.
We can go all day long explaining the complexities of CCC but that exercise is futile. What's important is that CCC has been unable to produced desired results for Zimbabweans and this has a lot to do with their strategies than their complexity.
Let's take for example, the SADC and and Tshabangu cases. Any remotely sane person would understand, through history and any factual basis, that SADC wasn't going to yield anything in CCC's favor in the aftermath of the August 2023 election. Worse still, when Tshabangu pursued the legal route in his fight against CCC, that that should have been the end of the story. We all know that the Judiciary is captured and has displayed that fact endlessly for God knows how long. But for some weird reason, CCC continued to believe in the impossible and pursed the matter in the courts, and embarassingly lost.
For some twisted sense of ordination, CCC thinks that the political universe or gods serve them only. This is very surprising because for one to reach a certain level of settlement or complete obliteration of Zanu Pf, they need to understand that those folks live and breathe for one thing only, power retention!
It is evident that CCC are making avoidable mistakes and failing to fully capitalize on the current political landscape. One of the main criticisms I have is that the CCC is overly focused on personalities rather than policy. The party's reliance on their leader, Nelson Chamisa, has created a situation where the party lacks a collective leadership structure. This makes CCC vulnerable and hinders its ability to function effectively.
As a concerned Zimbabwean and a sympathiser of the Citizens Coalition for Change, I feel compelled to profer solutions that may help address the pressing issues that hinder the party's effectiveness in challenging the ruling ZANU PF party.
Recommendations for the CCC
To effectively challenge ZANU PF, I propose the following changes to CCC's strategies and tactics:
Develop a more collective leadership structure. CCC need to move away from being a personality-driven party and establish a leadership structure that involves more members. This will ensure the party's continuity and effectiveness even if Chamisa is no longer the leader.
Connect with ordinary Zimbabweans. CCC must make a concerted effort to connect with the people, demonstrating that they represent their interests. This can be achieved through regular public meetings, active listening, and the development of policies that address their concerns.
Challenge ZANU PF more effectively. CCC need to be more confrontational with ZANU PF, exposing their corruption and mismanagement and calling for and leading peaceful protests.
Unity. The ongoing turmoil between Nelson Chamisa and the leaders or former leaders of his party is hardly good for anyone. They need to find each other and do so honestly.
By implementing these changes, I believe the CCC can improve its chances of challenging ZANU PF and bringing about positive change in Zimbabwe.
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