Civil servants cannot be Zanu-PF leaders

THERE has always been speculation that civil servants are deeply involved in Zanu-PF politics. Now citizens wonder no more! We hear headmasters and teachers, who are supposed to be in the civil service, have now traded their chalk, for political office ahead of the ruling party district co-ordinating committee (DCC) elections later this week.

The teachers and headmasters unashamedly join a magistrate and a prosecutor who have expressed their strong desire to be part of the Zanu-PF bandwagon and the ruling party does not appear to see anything untoward with that.

This is flagrantly unconstitutional and a wrong precedent.

At law, one cannot claim to represent a rainbow public, with all the political colours, on one end and brandish colours of a political party on the other.

But the moulten political system in the country has been worsened by Zanu-PF allowing all this to happen and going all the way to normalise such imprudent acts.

The decision by these government workers to contest for positions in the party defies the claim that Zanu-PF has not captured civil servants such that they allow them to go outright political to further their interests.

Now that we have a sitting magistrate, a prosecutor, a provincial education director and teachers who want to be in the party structures at the same time wanting to maintain the civil service tag, it is time for Zanu-PF to come out clean and act on such.

Citizens are told the party is divided on the matter with some insisting civil servants must stay out of politics or resign from public office if they maintain their burning desire to be Zanu-PF political actors.

It is morally wrong to have civil servants wanting to remain government workers and at the same time being leaders in the governing party.

We have seen the ruling party disregarding that and the argument raised by a headmaster in Masvingo province that he will contest and only resign if he wins but remain in the public service if he loses is as low an argument as it is absurd.

Refreshingly, we had the Zanu-PF secretary for legal affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana recently saying no government employee should contest for political office or assume any position in a political party before resigning from the civil service.

Clear and sound, but the disregard of that perfect position by the constitution can only mean Zanu-PF is not a disciple of the constitution in this regard.

Is it a clear case of ignorance of the power-hungry civil servants or it is absolute arrogance on their part?

Are they now above the law?

The law is clear and section 200 of the Constitution stipulates that no government employee is allowed to further the interests of any political party or cause or act in a partisan manner.

This is a classic test for Zanu-PF to act on these errant civil servants if they are not complicity in this constitutional boo-boo.