WHAT is becoming clearer by the day is that the failing economy now presents a greater threat to President Mugabe's government than the political opposition and pressure groups all put together.

I will not delve much into the efficaciousness of our opposition other than to say that the parties once again advertised their weakness at the poll in Chiredzi South last weekend. Even before the holding of the poll, the opposition's script about an uneven playing field and the propensity of President Mugabe's party to rig had already been authored. But in the end, can members of Arthur Mutambara's fragment of the MDC pat each other on the back and look at the election statistics with satisfaction and say "we did well under the circumstances guys, we got 674 votes"?

Or perhaps Morgan Tsvangirai's corner will all the same feel satisfied in that they performed better than their Mutambara opposition by virtue of posting 3 300 votes.

They were nowhere near Zanu PF's 10 401, whatever the excuse.

The opposition's campaign in Chiredzi was dead in the water right from the start. It does not make much sense for opposition parties to venture into the rural areas only when there is a by-election.

Can Mutambara honestly say that the people of Malipati knew that the MDC had split into two and that he could convince the people there to vote for his faction and not Zanu PF?

The loss of the opposition in the southeastern lowveld is emblematic of the changing nature of our politics today in which the economy has become Mugabe's biggest nemesis. Political scientist Eldred Masunungure aptly captured this phenomenon in a recent interview with Reuters.

"It's (the economic collapse) driving the current spate of strikes in the absence of real political opposition," Masunungure said. "Although there is no coherence in the protests they could degenerate into political protests."

There is all the evidence that Zanu PF's misrule has slowly shaped a new opposition in the form of impoverished workers and a legion of the unemployed. These are being recruited into this new league of opposition to President Mugabe as the economy deteriorates further.

There were more recruits this week in the form of poor teachers and government office workers who did not receive the much-anticipated salary adjustments this month. The composition of the group is even broader. It includes soldiers and policemen whose salaries last only a week.

Striking doctors and nurses, kombi drivers being forced to charge sub-economic fares, businesspeople being harassed by police daily and even senior Zanu PF officials whose businesses have been hit by the recession have become part of the opposition movement.

These various constituents are all united by poverty which they blame on Zanu PF's misrule. This is a group whose collective conscience cannot be bribed by Zanu PF's cheap shots against Tony Blair or George Bush.

They want food on the table, school fees, a decent pair of shoes and not false patriotism and infantile promises of an economic turnaround.

Which brings me to Finance minister Samuel Mumbengegwi's maiden public pronouncement on the economy since he took over the portfolio a fortnight ago.

It would be exploring uncharted echelons of naivety to have expected Mumbengegwi to espouse any novel ideas to deal with the economic malaise.

Addressing army officers at the Staff College in Harare on Monday, the minister stuck to convention and said exactly what we expected him to say -- nothing really.

He said government was working on "mechanisms" set to reduce inflation by year-end while at the same time facilitating socio-economic development and macro-economic stability. Mumbengegwi said government would closely monitor public expenditure and put in place a mechanism that will spearhead industrialisation and effective reduction of surging inflation.

His speech would not be complete without the Zanu PF cliché on Western sanctions which he blamed for the economic collapse. Through something he calls "collaborative efforts", he expects major growth in all sectors this year.

This kind of toadying by Mumbengegwi is not of any help to us. The economy is not going to be mended by repeating the sanctions mantras (ask Gideon Gono) or blurting out empty statements about collaborative efforts and mechanisms which have failed in the past.

Meanwhile, as the economy drops further, opposition to Mugabe is growing and no amount of water cannons or teargas canisters can stop it. The country cannot be harassed out of its poverty.