News / National
No 'special group' has entitlement to national cause
04 Jul 2018 at 07:32hrs | Views
THE rants by the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration cannot go unchallenged given the former freedom fighters' self-centred and self-serving demands bordering on entitlement at the expense of the majority citizens.
While citizens appreciate the role played by the former freedom fighters, they must understand that they are not the only special component in the wellbeing of this country. It is time war veterans move away from having a sense of entitlement at the expense of the rest of Zimbabweans.
Is it not true that this sense of misplaced entitlement is exactly what brought Zimbabwe to where it is right now? The war veterans' myopic thinking is what pushed then President Robert Mugabe in the late 1990s to commandeer Treasury to make unbudgeted payouts to appease them, leaving the economy crumbling.
We have no doubt that the citizenry has no challenges with the ZNLWVA members fighting Mnangagwa within their Zanu-PF set up, but it is another thing if they want the President to prioritise them ahead of others as if they are the only special lot that needs special attention.
It is regrettable that ZNLWVA spokesperson Douglas Mahiya believes that the former fighters are the only ones who bore the brunt of Mugabe's last rites. In fact, if truth be told Mahiya and his lot must be reminded that Mugabe was not forced to resign by war veterans alone, but by the resolve of the greater majority across the country.
Mahiya and those of his ilk who believe that Mnangagwa should give them special treatment should go hang, and not try to hold millions of citizens to ransom.
No doubt their claims that Mnangagwa might have forgotten that they fought in his corner is designed to capture the President so that he becomes beholden to the clique in the same manner they are alleging he is surrounded by "unprogressive minds".
Can Mahiya please explain to the nation what the war veterans' agenda is all about? Is it always about war veterans and their surrogates? What a mentality! Because he and many other war veterans lost the Zanu-PF primaries across the country, now they want to drag all war veterans into their individual wars.
Mahiya should understand that Zimbabwe cannot remain in a war spirit forever. Citizens demand development for the country to create wealth for everyone. This idea of creating a super-rich ruling class and their cronies must never be allowed to occur ever again. The country belongs to all its citizens and not the chosen few.
While we have no role to play in Zanu-PF politics, we have every right to challenge the ruling class and their cronies whenever they go astray. Clearly, war veterans have unfortunately become narrow-minded in their thinking just to drag the country into the abyss.
Come on war veterans, Zimbabweans deserve better!
While citizens appreciate the role played by the former freedom fighters, they must understand that they are not the only special component in the wellbeing of this country. It is time war veterans move away from having a sense of entitlement at the expense of the rest of Zimbabweans.
Is it not true that this sense of misplaced entitlement is exactly what brought Zimbabwe to where it is right now? The war veterans' myopic thinking is what pushed then President Robert Mugabe in the late 1990s to commandeer Treasury to make unbudgeted payouts to appease them, leaving the economy crumbling.
We have no doubt that the citizenry has no challenges with the ZNLWVA members fighting Mnangagwa within their Zanu-PF set up, but it is another thing if they want the President to prioritise them ahead of others as if they are the only special lot that needs special attention.
It is regrettable that ZNLWVA spokesperson Douglas Mahiya believes that the former fighters are the only ones who bore the brunt of Mugabe's last rites. In fact, if truth be told Mahiya and his lot must be reminded that Mugabe was not forced to resign by war veterans alone, but by the resolve of the greater majority across the country.
Mahiya and those of his ilk who believe that Mnangagwa should give them special treatment should go hang, and not try to hold millions of citizens to ransom.
No doubt their claims that Mnangagwa might have forgotten that they fought in his corner is designed to capture the President so that he becomes beholden to the clique in the same manner they are alleging he is surrounded by "unprogressive minds".
Can Mahiya please explain to the nation what the war veterans' agenda is all about? Is it always about war veterans and their surrogates? What a mentality! Because he and many other war veterans lost the Zanu-PF primaries across the country, now they want to drag all war veterans into their individual wars.
Mahiya should understand that Zimbabwe cannot remain in a war spirit forever. Citizens demand development for the country to create wealth for everyone. This idea of creating a super-rich ruling class and their cronies must never be allowed to occur ever again. The country belongs to all its citizens and not the chosen few.
While we have no role to play in Zanu-PF politics, we have every right to challenge the ruling class and their cronies whenever they go astray. Clearly, war veterans have unfortunately become narrow-minded in their thinking just to drag the country into the abyss.
Come on war veterans, Zimbabweans deserve better!
Source - newsday
