Don't give benefits to fired lot

Recently, the former ZANU-PF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, came open in one of the daily papers attacking the government for allegedly being cruel on former Vice President Mujuru, when it withdrew all the state funded benefits from her.  Mujuru was expelled from both the Government and the ruling party, ZANU-PF, facing serious allegations of corruption, subversion and intention to assassinate the President.

"The point is that this is cruel, it's vicious and we cannot understand why people can disregard their own Constitution. We think this is callous and unprecedented that this could happen…", said Gumbo.

The Constitution is quite clear on the matter of issuing state remuneration to either former Vice President or President. However, the fact that Mujuru wanted to unconstitutionally remove President Mugabe from his position as the Head of State and Government is totally unacceptable therefore, she must not be granted any of the benefits.

According to Section 102 of the Constitution on remuneration of president and vice-presidents, a person who has ceased to be president or vice-president is entitled to receive a pension equivalent to the salary of a sitting president or vice-president and such allowances and other benefits as may be prescribed under an Act of Parliament. These benefits may only be forfeited once the person directly or indirectly holds any other public office.

Yes, it's a fact according to the Constitution that the expelled Vice President is entitled to such benefits. I also strongly believe that the Constitution should be trailed on the basis that the person is resigning on good will. Granting state benefits to someone who was fired from both the government and the ruling party because she wants to oust the President is like rewarding her for all the illegalities that she has been doing.  Mujuru was a very senior Government official; hence, she was not supposed to be found on the wrong side of the system.

As the battle and struggle to remove President Mugabe from his position continues, Gumbo recently announced that all members linked to the Mujuru cabal should join 'Zanu-People First' in efforts to form a new political party.

Gumbo, who was expelled from ZANU-PF together with other members, is seeking political sympathy through attacking the government. The Mujuru cabal should get their answers from politicians like Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa that there is no real politics outside ZANU-PF. All those ex-ZANU-PF politicians who were shown the exit door, and later formed their political parties are struggling to make ends meet as their political carriers are failing to bear any fruits.

Consequently, it is shocking that Gumbo and his colleagues are still dreaming of ruling this nation. As their struggle to lead the nation continues, this cabal should be urged to wake up and smell the coffee. To be very frank, this group should read between the lines and take note that cheap politics no longer exists in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is for true, dedicated patriots who have a heart to serve the nation.

It is a fact that Zimbabwe will never, by any chance, fall in the hands of sellouts. The Mujuru sect which is strongly believed to be aligned to westerners will never, by any chance, given the opportunity to lead this nation. What is true is that Gumbo and his company are being used by westerners to enhance their agenda of regime change. These westerners are quite aware that Zimbabwe is a nation with vast natural resources; hence, they are looking for the best ways to siphon those resources.

The truth is that Gumbo and his colleagues are just desperately attempting to recover from their political downfall which came after they were dismissed from the revolutionary party. The Mujuru group must be reminded that ZANU-PF is a people's choice party; hence, it never went wrong by firing bad elements who wanted to ruin the party's activities. Unlike, Zanu-People First, the revolutionary party has strong roots that can be traced back to their origins.

Gumbo should stop begging people to join their cabal. The Mujuru cabal might be financially bankrupt; hence, calling people to join their cabal can be their other way of raising funds to fuel their project of Zanu-People First.