Mutsvangwa a distracting sideshow

THAT former War Veterans' minister and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's special advisor Christopher Mutsvangwa is a motor mouth, who is self-serving like many in the ruling Zanu-PF party is not in doubt.

But here we go again, majoring in trivia while the economy continues to burn. What has instructed the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) to try and recall Mutsvangwa from whatever position he holds in the organisation?

While we do not hold any brief for Mutsvangwa, it is our belief that these Zanu-PF fights are meant to divert public attention from the main challenge we are facing as a country — the economy.

The timing of alleged friction within the ZNLWVA, which staunchly supported President Emmerson Mnangagwa during his time of greatest need is no less than fiction, and meant to divert the attention of the suffering majority from the key election promises Zanu-PF made — that is to fight corruption within and without the ruling party and government.

Zimbabweans are tired of Zanu-PF, a kleptocracy, whose sole purpose is the primitive accumulation of personal wealth at the expense of the poor majority.

Now that Mutsvangwa has threatened to rock the boat and threatened the collective interests of our corrupt leaders, their acolytes and unethical businesspeople both in the public and private sector, are regrouping to silence him.

Not that Mutsvangwa and others are clean, not at all, but if government has set itself to fight corruption, citizens must see these arrests, and justice must be seen to be done. It boggles the mind why the war veterans would allow themselves to be divided.

The fights are about power — that he does not respect the President. Are citizens keen to create another monster of a President after ex-leader Robert Mugabe? Mnangagwa has always pledged that the economy must come first in place of politics, but it seems he says all the right things but acts the opposite.

Mutsvangwa must be given credit for shedding light on the corrupt activities going on in the corridors of power. What is regrettable though is the fact that Mutsvangwa, like many in his party, are self-serving politicians whose entitlement mantra is nauseating and sickening.

While Mutsvangwa is being "selfish" and "disrespectful" to the President, is whatever he's saying not true? We reiterate our previous call that Mnangagwa must revisit his strategy to fighting corruption.

What is regrettable is that the squabbles among the war veterans add to the discord in both government and Zanu-PF. By now citizens would have thought that political leaders would be focused on resurrecting the comatose economy by engaging each other for the sake of the country.

Whether the war veterans remove Mutsvangwa or not, Zimbabweans do not eat the Zanu-PF fights, and hence we call on Mnangagwa to tackle the national question. Mnangagwa must show leadership and allow Mutsvangwa to hold his different views.

These fights being sparked by the war veterans must never be allowed to gain impetus, the second republic must allow people to hold different views but still work for the common good together.

We want key issues to dominate debate in the country, rather than these petty issues. People have been ravaged by the effect of the declining economy, and so they need answers.