PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week issued an uncharacteristic veiled attack on President Robert Mugabe for refusing to accept electoral defeat in last year's poll.

Giving a keynote address at a two-day national vision workshop in Harare on Friday Tsvangirai said he wished to see a Zimbabwe where leaders are chosen by the people and "incumbents" step down once defeated in a poll.

"I envisage a Zimbabwe where political leaders are elected to serve the people and not their own interests, where incumbents stand down gracefully if they lose an election," Tsvangirai said amid applause from delegates who attended the two-day conference.

Political analysts said the attack was directed at Mugabe, who has ruled the country for the past 29 years and was trounced by Tsvangirai in the first round of last year's presidential election.

The MDC-T leader however failed to garner the 50% plus one vote that was needed to claim the presidency.

After losing the election Mugabe's supporters embarked on a violent campaign that claimed lives of over 200 MDC activists resulting in Tsvangirai pulling out of a run-off election.

"I want membership of a political party to be no more divisive or dangerous than membership of a football club," Tsvangirai said.

"Working towards a common vision is not possible if we do not acknowledge, accept and put aside the differences that divide us today.

"Such divisions have the potential to derail the pursuit of any common vision."

The six-month-old inclusive government of Zanu PF and the MDC formations is going through turbulent times as Mugabe continues to flout with impunity the Global Political Agreement (GPA), signed on September15 last year.

Mugabe has refused to replace central bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, after he unilaterally re-appointed the two against provisions of the GPA.

The MDC has taken the issue to the Southern African Development Community, the guarantors of the GPA.

Speaking at the same meeting, former Minister of Defence in Mugabe's government in the 1980s, Enos Nkala accused the 85-year-old leader of ruining the country.

He said it was not true that smart sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were the cause of the current economic crisis.

"If Smith (Ian) managed to survive sanctions why can't we?

"Where have the gold and platinum reserves gone? The problem is we are looting! Let's stop this looting and develop the country," charged Nkala.

He said Mugabe must stop attacking America and Britain and concentrate on reconstructing the country he has ruined.

"My friend (Mugabe) is very eloquent and clever but spends most of his time shouting at other nations."

Acting President Joice Mujuru urged participants to use the Vision 2020 document to draft the new national vision, dubbed Vision 2040.

But Zapu interim chairman Dumiso Dabengwa said Zimbabwe needs a permanent national vision that is people-centred, non-partisan and that does not fall away when a new administration assumes power.

Dabengwa said previous visions failed because they did capture the people's aspirations and were also partisan in nature.

He said the much-hyped Vision 2020, crafted by Mugabe's administration, collapsed because it did not capture the aspirations of the ordinary people as it was foisted on them.

But Zanu PF apologist Obadiah Msindo said there was need for national healing and reconciliation before the crafting of a national vision.

"It's not possible to come up with a national vision when people are not free to say what they want, when there is so much political tension in the country," said Msindo, who is Destiny of Africa Network founder.

With the theme, Zimbabwe Vision 2040: Collectively shaping our destiny in pursuit of a shared national vision, the conference which ended yesterday was designed to gather views that would form a common national vision.

The conference, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, was attended by officials from Zanu PF, the two MDC formations, Zapu, non-governmental organizations and civil society organisations.