Opinion / Columnist
Tapfumaneyi is an egocentric fool, G40 'disrespect' of war vets is not a national threat
25 Apr 2016 at 19:59hrs | Views
The greatest threat to this nation's very survival today is the worsening economic meltdown. It is a great pity that President Mugabe failed to address this threat during his last meeting with the war vets. The fact that someone like Secretary for War Veterans, Walter Tapfumaneyi, should think the greatest threat to the nation is from Grace Mugabe and her G40 faction being disrespectful of war vets shows how many of these war vets continues to live in their own make-believe world!
"President Robert Mugabe "skillfully managed" a potentially volatile situation by meeting the country's former freedom fighters three weeks ago averting State capture, a senior government official has said," Bulawayo24 reported.
"Secretary for War Veterans Walter Asher Tapfumaneyi yesterday said that Mugabe's meeting with war veterans pre-empted "an untenable situation" following threats to the country's military establishment by a youthful faction within Zanu-PF. Without mentioning anyone by name, Tapfumaneyi said youthful members of the governing Zanu-PF party were attempting to discredit the military and war veterans."
The greatest threat the nation is facing today is the serious economic meltdown which has seen unemployment soar to 90% plus, forced millions of our people in a life of abject poverty and despair, the country's health and education services have all but collapsed, etc. The economic hardships brought on by the economic meltdown has spared no one, most of the war vets demanded the meeting with President Mugabe to demand answers to their worsening economic situation.
The factional fighting in Zanu PF is being fuelled the economic reality that the national cake has shrunk considerably when the appetites of the ruling elite has grown in leaps and bounces. Only a few can have a piece of the cake and those who get nothing face abject poverty like the rest of us. It is no wonder therefore that the factional wars in the party have been fierce.
At the heart of the country's economic and political problems is the worsening economic meltdown and the situation is unsustainable and it is posing a serious threat to the stability and even survival of the nation.
In the Zanu PF factional wars the G40 members have questioned the war vets' flaunting of their liberation war credentials to justified why they must continue to be granted privileges in the party. Without wanting to be dragged into the party's dirty dog-eat-dog fights one has to question Tapfumaneyi's poor judgement in comparing this trivial matter to the national crisis!
If the "state capture" was averted because the war vets told President Mugabe they are the "stockholders" of Zimbabwe then the Secretary Tapfumaneyi is not only concerted but down right stupid. Whilst the nation owe a great debt of gratitude to all those who contributed in the war of independence, especially to those on the coal face of the struggle; the demand that the people give up their freedoms and basic rights including the right to free and fair elections in payment for the debt is a price no nation in its right mind will ever accept!
The present arrangement where Zanu PF members and war vets have taken onto themselves the power to deny the rest of the population a meaningful vote and even the right to life is totally unacceptable. War vets have the one vote each same as everyone else; what they do not have the right to veto the democratic will of the people.
The nation has failed to remove President Mugabe and Zanu PF from office in the past regardless of the people's democratic wish to do so because the regime has failed to hold free and fair elections. In the last 20 years the war vets have played a very prominent role in denying the people the free vote; this must stop forthwith!
Forget Secretary Tapfumaneyi's misplace ego, the greatest threat to the nation today is the worsening economic situation and not G40 members question his right to a veto in party and national elections. We need to address the economic meltdown as a matter of great urgency and the only sure way to address it is for the nation to have free, fair and credible elections.
It is not the continued rule by Zanu PF or the continued exercise of the veto power by war vets that is at issue here; it is the very survival of the nation. We are not going to risk the very survival of this great nation to gratify the insatiable greed for power and wealth of some tyrant or to tickle the misplace ego of egocentric fool.
"President Robert Mugabe "skillfully managed" a potentially volatile situation by meeting the country's former freedom fighters three weeks ago averting State capture, a senior government official has said," Bulawayo24 reported.
"Secretary for War Veterans Walter Asher Tapfumaneyi yesterday said that Mugabe's meeting with war veterans pre-empted "an untenable situation" following threats to the country's military establishment by a youthful faction within Zanu-PF. Without mentioning anyone by name, Tapfumaneyi said youthful members of the governing Zanu-PF party were attempting to discredit the military and war veterans."
The greatest threat the nation is facing today is the serious economic meltdown which has seen unemployment soar to 90% plus, forced millions of our people in a life of abject poverty and despair, the country's health and education services have all but collapsed, etc. The economic hardships brought on by the economic meltdown has spared no one, most of the war vets demanded the meeting with President Mugabe to demand answers to their worsening economic situation.
The factional fighting in Zanu PF is being fuelled the economic reality that the national cake has shrunk considerably when the appetites of the ruling elite has grown in leaps and bounces. Only a few can have a piece of the cake and those who get nothing face abject poverty like the rest of us. It is no wonder therefore that the factional wars in the party have been fierce.
At the heart of the country's economic and political problems is the worsening economic meltdown and the situation is unsustainable and it is posing a serious threat to the stability and even survival of the nation.
In the Zanu PF factional wars the G40 members have questioned the war vets' flaunting of their liberation war credentials to justified why they must continue to be granted privileges in the party. Without wanting to be dragged into the party's dirty dog-eat-dog fights one has to question Tapfumaneyi's poor judgement in comparing this trivial matter to the national crisis!
If the "state capture" was averted because the war vets told President Mugabe they are the "stockholders" of Zimbabwe then the Secretary Tapfumaneyi is not only concerted but down right stupid. Whilst the nation owe a great debt of gratitude to all those who contributed in the war of independence, especially to those on the coal face of the struggle; the demand that the people give up their freedoms and basic rights including the right to free and fair elections in payment for the debt is a price no nation in its right mind will ever accept!
The present arrangement where Zanu PF members and war vets have taken onto themselves the power to deny the rest of the population a meaningful vote and even the right to life is totally unacceptable. War vets have the one vote each same as everyone else; what they do not have the right to veto the democratic will of the people.
The nation has failed to remove President Mugabe and Zanu PF from office in the past regardless of the people's democratic wish to do so because the regime has failed to hold free and fair elections. In the last 20 years the war vets have played a very prominent role in denying the people the free vote; this must stop forthwith!
Forget Secretary Tapfumaneyi's misplace ego, the greatest threat to the nation today is the worsening economic situation and not G40 members question his right to a veto in party and national elections. We need to address the economic meltdown as a matter of great urgency and the only sure way to address it is for the nation to have free, fair and credible elections.
It is not the continued rule by Zanu PF or the continued exercise of the veto power by war vets that is at issue here; it is the very survival of the nation. We are not going to risk the very survival of this great nation to gratify the insatiable greed for power and wealth of some tyrant or to tickle the misplace ego of egocentric fool.
Source - Patrick Guramatunhu
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