Tsvangirai says progress in Zimbabwe is irreversible

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says Zimbabwe is on an irreversible path to progress and that must be recognised.  In an interview with Fox News in Davos Switzerland where he is attending the World economic Forum, Tsvangirai said he did not regret joining the inclusive government where his foe Robert Mugabe is still the country’s president because the country was facing a precipice.

He brushed off perceptions that his party had been silenced by joining the unity government arguing that it was making a positive contribution to the country’s economic recovery. He said the unity government had been able to stabilise hyperinflation and to revitalise social sectors such as health and education, and there was peace and stability in the country now.

“You know, the media always want to see blood on the floor, and when there’s no blood, no chaos, they think people have been silenced,” he said. “We have been a positive influence on the inclusive government for the sake of the people. We are not the opposition in government. We are in government to make a contribution for the transition and I hope that people would appreciate that we added value in making sure we are able to deal with the plight of our people and that we have been appreciated by our people despite what people can say.”

The media has been closely watching events in North Africa especially the violence in Tunisia and Egypt and seem to have been expecting the same to happen in Zimbabwe where President Mugabe has been in power for 31 years. Tsvangirai was dodgy when asked how he felt events in Tunisia and Egypt related to Zimbabwe.

However, when asked whether he saw Mugabe loosening his grip on power in the country he responded:  “Of course. I don’t subscribe to some of his activities and some of his actions. I don’t think he’s got a grip that he’s not willing to let go. I think because he has accepted to go through this transition, he is in acceptance that he cannot continue to hold on.”

On what he thought would happen if Mugabe died, Tsvangirai said: “Hopefully he will die after we have managed the transition and that it won’t be chaotic. We have always worried about the succession issue, especially this part that he has left it too late.”

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