Opinion / Columnist
Inept Zanu-PF provincial chairmen deserve dismissal
09 Oct 2014 at 07:16hrs | Views
The First Lady, Dr Grace Mugabe's suggestion on Tuesday 6 October 2014 in Gweru, said that some Zanu-PF provincial chairmen who have failed to reassert the ruling party's dominance in urban areas should be dismissed to pave way for leaders with new ideas must be applauded and taken into action. It is prudent that the ruling party should show its dominance in urban areas as a way of showing its visibility across the country.
It is not proper for the ruling party to claim dominance in the rural areas while in the urban areas where most of the economic activities are taking, is not visible. So those provincial chairpersons who are failing to deliver and make the ruling party dominant in the urban areas should be dismissed so that in the coming 2018 elections the party do claim all seats in every constituency regardless of where the constituency is located.
There is a belief by people that some urbanites are more inclined to opposition political parties than to the ruling party but recent developments in the country do not support this notion. The July 31, 2013 elections revealed that even in the urban areas the ruling party commands the following. The ruling party was unfortunate to win seats areas where provincial chairmen had failed to initiate programs that lured the electorate to vote for it.
One cannot give an explanation that the urbanites hate the ruling party when it was clear that ZANU PF swept into victory in towns like Masvingo, Mutare, Chinhoyi,Bindura, Marondera and a host of other towns which the opposition political parties used to command the following. The fact that the ruling party managed to win some seats in the urban areas like those mentioned above when they used to be strong bases of the opposition political parties shows that hard work brings good results. Some provincial chairpersons in those areas worked hard for the ruling party's victory to be certain and results are there for everyone to see.
Some people should now ask why the ruling party failed to sweep to victory in areas like Harare, Chitungwiza, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and some of the towns and areas which it lost to the opposition MDC-T. This alone gives credence to the First Lady's call for the ineffective provincial chairpersons to be relieved of their duties to pave way for the new ones with new ideas that can drive the party to greater heights
The information above pointing to the failure by the ruling party to command dominance in towns like Harare, Bulawayo where it failed to get even a single seat, Chitungwiza as well as provinces like Matabeleland North and some not mentioned here shows that some provincial chairpersons in those areas were not working vigorously to snatch some constituencies from the opposition parties like what was the case in Masvingo, Marondera, Bindura etc where the ruling party reasserted its dominance there.
As such the First Lady's call for the inept provincial chairpersons to be removed and replaced by new leaders should be taken serious as a matter of urgency so that the ruling party revives its dominance in all urban areas. It would not make any sense for the ruling party to have dominance in small towns and failing to command dominance in Harare and Bulawayo which are the two biggest cities in the country.
The problem with the provincial chairpersons who have failed to lead the party into victory is that they occupy themselves with factional wars which divide the party instead of creating good environment conducive for unity of purpose. A good leader who has good ideas should not be blemish and he/she should not be aligned to certain individuals.
One needs to be a leader who does not take sides that end up creating confusion among his followers. So for the ruling party to reassert itself on all urban areas like what it used to be before the formation of the western sponsored MDC-T, some provincial chairmen who have failed to lead the party into victory in the July 31, 2013 harmonized elections should be relieved of their duties to pave way for the new brooms like what the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe had said.
It is not proper to let the party go into shambles just because some top officials in the party are not eager to remove those who have failed to lead by example simple because they are aligned to their factions. The ruling party as it is can remain in power as long as it removes from positions those who are lazy to think for new programs of action that can drive the party into prosperity.
The party can start rolling again like what it was like in the 1980s once it accommodates ideas from people like the First Lady that calls for the removal of those who are good at enjoying personal glory in the expense of the party
Source - John Mukumbo
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