Chipanga takes Mugabe and his cabinet to the cleaners

The so-called million man march, in actual fact a G40 rally, has come and gone with no million men in sight.  When Mnangagwa consciously avoided well-rehearsed slogans in praise of Dr Amai chanted by other senior leaders, ZANU PF's factionalism was laid bare.

However, despite the failure in projected numbers - perhaps 40,000 and most of them forced to participate - the event was some kind of a success but in ways not intended by the organisers. In front of world cameras, ZANU PF youths, through their deputy secretary Kudzai Chipanga, demonstrated that there are some people in the clueless and moribund party who have seen the light.

Chipanga did not mince his words when he addressed Mugabe directly, urging him to reign in his ministers with "misplaced priorities". He reasoned that it is inappropriate for ministers to so frequently change luxury vehicles as if they were changing socks. This, he called "insubordination" given that the emperor doesn't change cars so often. Of course he does but it is not as obvious because he spends more time in the sky than on the ground.

Visibly frustrated, the youth leader went on to chide authorities for importing "maize from Zambia and Brazil", (and exporting US dollars in the process) instead of purchasing maize grown in Zvimba, Rusape and other local communities.

He also wondered why villagers who go into gold panning to provide for their starving families are referred to as "makorokoza" or illegal miners whereas elsewhere they would be called small-scale miners. In the same breath, he wondered what happened to the "missing" $15 billion that has been topical for quite some time now.

Such public expression of frustration by a key wing of ZANU PF is nothing but a reflection of the national mood. You can imagine the magnitude of ordinary people's anger with ZANU PF leadership if loyal children of the so-called revolutionary party have had their patience stretched to the limit.

Further addressing the issue of ministerial incompetence and misplaced priorities, Chipanga also asked why ministers spend more time attending numerous conferences away from Harare than doing the work they were employed to do. In this regard, he offered, for free, ZANU PF conference facilities at the party head office to those ministers in the habit of absconding from duty under the pretext of attending conferences in resorts around Zimbabwe and abroad.

As he was saying this, some wondered whether Walter Mzembi is still Minister for Tourism or he has become the top tourist himself! Lately, he spends more time abroad than at home. The only reason why Chipanga did not mention this is because Mzembi is a known G40 sympathiser.

ZANU PF youths had no kind words for corruption, singling out ZIMRA in the process. They told Mugabe that ZIMRA officers live a lifestyle well beyond what their income could ever sustain. Of course, every Zimbabwean knows that ZIMRA is one of the most corrupt organisations but little did we expect that such condemnation would come from ZANU PF itself. If the youth leader was not an active member of G40, he certainly would have asked Saviour Kasukuwere who was sitting not far from him, where he got the resources to build a mansion more in keeping with a Hollywood lifestyle than a government minister's salary. Of course, the truth will come out one day and we will want our money back!

It would appear that the increasingly geriatric Mugabe never realised youths could raise such difficult topics directly with him, especially in public. In the business world, if an organisation fails, the first person to go is usually the chief executive officer, not line managers. By telling Mugabe to his face and in public that his ministers are not performing, Chipanga was indirectly telling Mugabe that he is not performing either.

To sugar-coat his strong condemnation of the president, his ministers and government, Kudzi Chipanga begged relevant authorities to speed up the process of renaming Harare International Airport as Robert Mugabe International Airport. Some of us see this as fairly appropriate given that it is Mugabe, his family and close cronies, who now use the international airport built by his nephew Leo Mugabe more than anybody else. They might as well declare it their private property - not too many would care.

Grace Mugabe, as usual, did not disappoint when she was given the microphone. She warned Zimbabweans that Mugabe will rule from the grave. If indeed this was possible, Josiah Tongogara, Herbert Chitepo, Leopold Takawira, Joshua Nkomo, Nikita Mangema, Ndabaningi Sithole, Lookout Masuku, Rex Nhongo and many others, would have been pioneers. Grace must be told in no uncertain terms that a spirit, literally or metaphorically, will never rule Zimbabwe, especially an evil one. Never ever! If she has leadership plans beyond Mugabe, she is certainly not reading the signs very well.  

On a more serious but rather sad note, on his next medical trip, President Mugabe, or those who now decide for him, should seriously consider enlisting the services of a speech therapist. The nonagenarian now struggles to pronounce very basic words and it seems to be getting worse.  What a national embarrassment!

By taking Mugabe and his ministers to the cleaners, ZANU PF youths demonstrated that the number of disgruntled voices is growing rapidly. It looks like #ThisFlag movement has more youths lining up to join!

Moses Chamboko is a pro-democracy activist and interim Secretary for ZUNDE
www.zunde.org; chambokom@gmail.com