Opinion / Columnist
Squabbling will not bring food on the table comrades
12 Aug 2015 at 13:00hrs | Views
In September last year, at Nyamhunga Stadium after commissioning the construction of Kariba South Power Extension, President Robert Mugabe discouraged senior ZANU PF officials from taking their fights to the media, especially the private media.
"Zvekushambadza wonzwa kuti Minister akati arikutukwa… takati kumamininster edu hakuna nyaya yekuenda kumanewspaper ana Tsvangirai muchitukana. Nyaya ngadziuye kudare kwete kungoti nyaya kumapepa anaTsvangirai, hatidi," said President Mugabe.
It appears his counsel fell on deaf ears. Of late, our political elders have been involved in public acrimony that bordered on sheer defiance to the President's counsel. At this point, there is need for the President to reiterate his directive, as that directive has since escaped some comrades' minds.
The President advised that any aggrieved cadre must bring the issue to the attention of the party rather than resorting to open rancour that subsequently put a dent on the good reputation of the party. Such infighting, which is mostly played out in the media, diverts attention from the real issues of bread and butter. The ruled mass looks up to the ministers and legislators to take lead and guide them in reviving the economy that will subsequently bring food to their tables.
Those internal dissensions will not bring food on the table. ZANU PF cannot afford to waste precious time on such trivial wars at the expense of the objectives projected in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset). Those objectives surely need to be promoted by none other than the players in the ongoing petty wars. All energies must be directed towards the implementation of the national vision as enshrined in the wonderful blue print.
It is a fact that people, even Siamese twins, cannot agree on everything. Again, when addressing guests attending a luncheon hosted by the then Local Government Minister, Ignatius Chombo, after the official opening of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament last year, President Mugabe said: "Differences we have in political parties are political differences."
Such disagreements are not evil per se but the way that they are handled makes them appear evil. When there are such incongruities, the comrades must learn to reflect on many other areas where they agree. In most cases, the points of agreement outnumber points of disagreement. The comrades have agreed on many areas and disagreed on few. That should not blight national development. As President advised, the revolutionary party has channels of grievances procedure at the disposal of any member. It is a democratic process that lends an ear to everybody. That channel has not been used.
A threatening internal discord can tear apart the revolutionary party if it continues unchecked. Although the detractor media exaggerate the magnitude of the infighting in ZANU PF, indeed some individuals at the party echelons are working at cross-purpose. It is not totally the figment of the private media's imagination. We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand and pretend as if everything is ok.
This is how it started with the Mujuru cabal. It was left unchecked until the cabal created a parallel centre of power. The cabal had almost achieved its mission because the party had buried its head in the sand and left factionalism to take its roots.
However, the unceremonious ending of their political lives in ZANU PF must ever ring in the ears of the comrades who are taking the same destructive path. One good thing about ZANU PF is that there are no sacred cows. Mutasa, who behaved as if he owned the revolutionary party, is now a political nonentity and so is Rugare Gumbo.
Joice Mujuru, like her allies, was almost sure that she would be the next resident of the State House. She is now a political has-been and a complete spent force owing to this kind of behaviour that some comrades are trying to perpetrate.
The revolutionary party is quite a disciplined party. That discipline abetted in the attainment of independence. Those who took over the baton from the liberation heroes must preserve the legacy. Party elders must lead by example while youths must respect their elders.
"Zvekushambadza wonzwa kuti Minister akati arikutukwa… takati kumamininster edu hakuna nyaya yekuenda kumanewspaper ana Tsvangirai muchitukana. Nyaya ngadziuye kudare kwete kungoti nyaya kumapepa anaTsvangirai, hatidi," said President Mugabe.
It appears his counsel fell on deaf ears. Of late, our political elders have been involved in public acrimony that bordered on sheer defiance to the President's counsel. At this point, there is need for the President to reiterate his directive, as that directive has since escaped some comrades' minds.
The President advised that any aggrieved cadre must bring the issue to the attention of the party rather than resorting to open rancour that subsequently put a dent on the good reputation of the party. Such infighting, which is mostly played out in the media, diverts attention from the real issues of bread and butter. The ruled mass looks up to the ministers and legislators to take lead and guide them in reviving the economy that will subsequently bring food to their tables.
Those internal dissensions will not bring food on the table. ZANU PF cannot afford to waste precious time on such trivial wars at the expense of the objectives projected in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset). Those objectives surely need to be promoted by none other than the players in the ongoing petty wars. All energies must be directed towards the implementation of the national vision as enshrined in the wonderful blue print.
It is a fact that people, even Siamese twins, cannot agree on everything. Again, when addressing guests attending a luncheon hosted by the then Local Government Minister, Ignatius Chombo, after the official opening of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament last year, President Mugabe said: "Differences we have in political parties are political differences."
Such disagreements are not evil per se but the way that they are handled makes them appear evil. When there are such incongruities, the comrades must learn to reflect on many other areas where they agree. In most cases, the points of agreement outnumber points of disagreement. The comrades have agreed on many areas and disagreed on few. That should not blight national development. As President advised, the revolutionary party has channels of grievances procedure at the disposal of any member. It is a democratic process that lends an ear to everybody. That channel has not been used.
A threatening internal discord can tear apart the revolutionary party if it continues unchecked. Although the detractor media exaggerate the magnitude of the infighting in ZANU PF, indeed some individuals at the party echelons are working at cross-purpose. It is not totally the figment of the private media's imagination. We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand and pretend as if everything is ok.
This is how it started with the Mujuru cabal. It was left unchecked until the cabal created a parallel centre of power. The cabal had almost achieved its mission because the party had buried its head in the sand and left factionalism to take its roots.
However, the unceremonious ending of their political lives in ZANU PF must ever ring in the ears of the comrades who are taking the same destructive path. One good thing about ZANU PF is that there are no sacred cows. Mutasa, who behaved as if he owned the revolutionary party, is now a political nonentity and so is Rugare Gumbo.
Joice Mujuru, like her allies, was almost sure that she would be the next resident of the State House. She is now a political has-been and a complete spent force owing to this kind of behaviour that some comrades are trying to perpetrate.
The revolutionary party is quite a disciplined party. That discipline abetted in the attainment of independence. Those who took over the baton from the liberation heroes must preserve the legacy. Party elders must lead by example while youths must respect their elders.
Source - John Sigauke
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