ZimFirst make significant progress, to conduct numerous rallies soon

ZimFirst leader Maxwell Shumba has said since the formation of his party they have made significant progress surpassing their expectations thereby proving some prophets of doom wrong.

Shumba said such questions as to what progress his party has made arose from many sections of the society.

"We have made good progress, in fact we have surpassed our own expectations and in the process we have managed to prove wrong some prophets of doom who never gave us a chance in the first place," he said.
 
"First and foremost people have responded well to our manifesto. Our name which is  well reflected in our manifesto resonates with the people. Zimfirst wants to give back power to the people. The leadership is there to facilitate and endorse  decisions made by the people for the people. We are revolutionary in that we have come up with an ideology everyone agree with/ Country First, People First, Zimbabwe First. Even Joice Mujuru agrees with hence her picking our name to launch her political outfit."

He said their brick by brick recruiting strategy has ensured they have an intact and impenetrable foundation.

"Forces of evil have tried to infiltrate and divide us but we have remained resolute and united to keep the foundation of our party intact. Opportunists have fallen by the wayside allowing us the ability to plan without any distractions. The results of such resilience are there for everyone to see because our brand continue to grow as people begin to understand our methodology towards 2018," he said.

"Our silent revolution is spreading steadily to all corners of Zimbabwe. We have a national presence behind the scenes. 2018 will be won on the back of proper planning and this is what we are good at.  Our strategies are being adjusted to the realities of the political environment but largely we are on track on our goal to be the next government in 2018."

Shumba said they were people first party meaning they believe in investing in their people first.

"To demonstrate our commitment to what we believe in we launched our party I the neglected dusty fields of rural Murewa. Our launch on 26 September 2015, which was attended by nearly thousand people could easily have been held at Gwanzura stadium but was strategically held in the heart of rural Murehwa as an indication of the importance the party's ties to the voters in rural areas. The launch itself showcased not only the arrival of Zimfirst but the potential the party has to form the next government," he said.

"The attention we are currently experiencing from security agents and assigned infiltrators from fellow opposition parties is testimony that we have suddenly become a threat. Our members have been questioned and some harassed. In some places our party members have been denied permission to hold meetings."

He said as a party using social media and person to person interaction, we continue to educate each other on party history, party philosophy and party policies. He said armed with a good understanding of the party, everyone in Zimfirst has become a disciple and the word continues to spread to guarantee sustainable, slow but sure organic growth.

"Students from High Schools several Colleges and Universities have begun to take a lead role in mobilizing the youth on their campuses and it's a very welcome development at a critical time when many opposition political party are struggling to build or are in disintegration mode," Shumba said.
"Outside Zimbabwe, Zimfirst has managed to attract some of Zimbabwe's best brains. Our policy development activities are led by technocrats who care less about politics but have a sole desire to see Zimbabwe again.  The result has been four districts in SA and a steady but critical following in the UK, USA and Botswana."

Shumba said they were very much taking advantage of the bad policies of Zanu PF that have seen professionals and a good number of technocrats leave Zimbabwe.

"They make the pool of experts who are now in the process of building the ZimFirst shadow government and are actively preaching and spreading Zimfirst ideas in the diaspora. Think Tanks which reflect our small government philosophy are fully constituted and have been responsible for developing our policies for a ZimFirst government. Each Think Tank has proven technocrats," he said.
 
"We have managed to garner explicit support from then addition we various civil society stakeholders and as part of our sworn oath to a silent revolution these Friends of ZimFirst will remain behind the scenes until the time we are ready for a public event when they will come in the open. For example we have Pastors Forum which lead prayers for ZimFirst and Zimbabwe and we boast the explicit support of traditional leaders whose wisdom continue to guide us thus adding a lot of value to the growth and stability of our party."
 
Shumba said when the time comes ZimFirst will hold its first rally whose timing will be announced to the public at an opportune time.

"The Rally whose theme is 'Together The Future is Bright Rally" will be aimed at serving notice to Zanu PF that the people of Zimbabwe cannot be defeated when then they are united. ZimFirst was formed as a national convergence concept therefore, the Together The Future is Bright Rally is expected to prove that," he said.

Shumba said for now  the organic growth of the Silent Revolution has proven that it is very possible to lead a party from the Diaspora, if the message is right, planning is methodical, meticulous, thorough and expectations are properly communicated.

"Even ZAPU and Zanu successfully executed the Chimurenga revolution from the Diaspora. Our Silent Revolution to bring back Zimbabwe will not be any different. It is strategically important that at this point in time I be here where I am, once I complete the tasks I am working on right now on behalf of the party I will headI home to lead from the front," he said. "Elections are not today and 2026 is our year to plan and plan carefully for 2018. Zimbabwe needs to know that is important work for the party I have to do between now and the day I return home. Most important, all Zimbabweans should know that I said 'Yes' to the calling from the elders in our society that I should come back home and lead the masses from the yoke of poverty."

He said the elders who made the call emphasized that the children of Zimbabwe have cried enough and that their loud cries of distress have been heard and I have to come back home.

"I am not turning back in that commitment. I am coming home and Zimbabwe should be prepared for that day. ZimFirst is not a fly by night political party. It is an ordained mission to bring Zimbabwe back to working again and as such so many people will be involved in carrying the burden," he said.  "After 36 years of Mugabe misrule, the burden to dislodge Zanu PF will be heavy but not insurmountable. I am heartened though by the promise I got from the elders that I will not shoulder the burden alone."

Shumba said as a fresh voice  and greats of fresh air ZimFirsters in Zimbabwe and across the globe have put themselves up for the mission.

He said to illustrate their utmost commitment to this cause of a peaceful and prosperous Zimbabwe, the people who are with him in the Diaspora are coming home to join those already on the frontline of  Silent Revolution to provide solid leadership.

"That time will come and it will be soon and Zimbabwe needs to brace for our future is bright campaign which we call The Final Voice 2018. Let me reiterate this important point, as a Party we plan methodically, meticulously and thoroughly.  Those who are eager to be part of a platform of fresh ideas and fresh legs should know that I will be home and that the future is bright. In fact I am coming home to unite our people and lead them to victory of good over bad governance."

He said through their 'Together the Future is Bright' rallies, our Brick by Brick engagements, and other unity building activities they will build a coalition to win the elections whenever they will be held.

When asked that former MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai loyalists who formed their own parties came and never made on impact, or Welshman Ncube,  now they have Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma all struggling to attract more people, how do he distinguish himself  and will he make it?, he said "I am a Fresh Voice who did not voluntarily put himself forward. Rather, respected Traditional and Church leaders separately carried the message that I had to come home, that time was nigh and I was being called to come and help lead to emancipation of our people."

Shumba said they clearly stated that he will not be alone on this mission.

"They went on to say that they too will be involved in the background during the entire process until Zimbabweans achieve peace and justice for all and prosperity. Indeed, today, little more than ten months after they made the initial call the respected elders have been true to their words," he said. "Their support on the background has been unequivocal and through their support the response to ZimFirst's message of Country and People First from Zimbabweans from all walks of life is overwhelming. The Silent Revolution under ZimFirst is a unique wave underpinning the good will of the Elders and ZimFirst foot soldiers who are part of this mission."

Shumba said the ZimFirst mission, its  message, and the strategy to carve a 2018 win is very different from those whose names you mentioned.

"Ours is an ordained mission through which all forces of good are converging and I am proud of being part of it and so are all other ZimFirsters who are the bricks in our solid foundation. As a matter of fact our behind the scenes growth is phenomenal.  We are a party where many Zimbabwean citizens are coming forward to share the little they have to help meet the needs of our Silent Revolution," he said.
 
"Our fundraising under the noble theme of 'Drop of Sweat to Wet our Flag of our revolution initiative is testimony to what Zimbabweans can do for a good cause they believe in.  One thing to note is that I moved out of my former party as an individual and provided a new vision on a new platform without dragging my former party into my activities and this is a fact that separates me from those individuals you mentioned. I have gained a lot of respect from many quarters for going on this route. So as a party we are very confident of our ability to prosecute this mission together with the Zimbabwean people"

"I have not given up on national convergence but the strategy is different this time around. To clarify a bit here I was the brains behind The Zimbabwe First National Convergence Platform but not the one fronted by Bakare. We made attempts to merge. The ZimFirst National Convergence is the platform that gave birth to the concept of People First and Zimbabwe People First now stolen and used to launch Joice Mujuru.'s party," he added.

Shumba said on unity, he was very confident that Zimbabweans are capable of forging meaningful unity beyond sharing political posts. He said Zimbabweans do not want simply a regime change but want a promise of a better future and a guarantee that they will never return to the abuses of Zanu PF.

"ZimFirst is a unifying concept which calls all Zimbabweans to love their country first before their political entities. Zimfirst has worked diligently to put in place the necessary systems to guarantee a better future. The country comes first concept is unifying and I am sure every Zimbabwean agrees with me on that one. Our Together The Future is Bright Rallies which are in the pipeline will provide the real platform for national convergence," he said. "All Zimbabweans will be invited to these rallies to hear or speak about what we can do together. It's all about together as we come to these unifying rallies . We will be victors together and we will prosper together in peace and harmony. We will preach to all Zimbabweans and many stakeholders are already part of this initiative of fresh ideas and fresh legs."

Shumba said he encourage Zimbabweans from all walks of life to keep their ears on the ground for the announcement and brace for these unique together the future is bright rallies.

"I know there are people out there whose sole existence in politics is for political power and I hope they will not be disappointed by our approach because our focus is to build a future together and in doing so we say everyone matters. But first things first, through our brick by brick method we will build a formidable body mass to overcome the dictatorship that has made the Zimbabwe into a basket case," he said.

"Our launch in a rural set up had no financial considerations at all. We actually spent twice as we would have if we had launched at a more central place like Harare. We also wanted to tell the world that a unique party has arrived which respects the areas where the majority of the citizens live. We are a down to earth party which is not moved by glamour or material things . In similar ways as in the Chimurenga war, the people in the rural areas will play a significant role in this mission."
 
Shumba said the bigger population of Zimbabwe lives in rural area and they have been largely neglected, bludgeoned into submitting themselves to forced Zanu PF rule and abused by Zanu PF politicians whenever they need their votes.

"We converged in Rural Murewa to send a message that we are Together with the majority of the suffering masses on this mission. A clear message that we will not only come when it's election time. We are the Final Voice to end their misery and so in Murehwa we took the first step together. For starters, behind the launch gathering lie graves of 29 villagers who were massacred in 1979 at the height of the Chimurenga war," he said. "Nine of the  victims where Freedom Fighters who lie in graves of unknown soldiers and gad been neglected until recently when toms tombs were erected from the efforts of the philanthropic effort of one if the village!s sons. My own sister Ketai perished on that sad day."

He said despite the traumatic tragic loss and sacrifice, the village has been neglected by the Zanu PF Government.

"To put salt into the villagers wounds in each election cycle the villagers have been terrorized to stop them from supporting the opposition . In fact in 2008 a torture base was set up at the local township where villagers perceived to be opposition activists were tortured. The story of this village is not unique. Every village in Zimbabwe has its own similar story of abuse at the hands of the Zanu PF government and party. We converged in that rural set up to say that we will walk together on this journey and that when we become the government we will not neglect them," he said. "Those who came from across the nation took the message of hope back home. Encouraged by the fact that finally the party of the people  has arrived."

Shumba said his relationship with Tsvangirai was very good and respectful and there were structural differences on strategy to move forward.

"I made a decision to leave. My primary focus was to create a platform to bring in fresh ideas and fresh legs and in particular technocrats and to rejuvenate the party after the disappointment of 2013," he said.

"A coalition should not solely be focused on removing Zanu PF from Power but it should have the entire set of principles which should be the mission after Mugabe regime is gone. I will not be interested in joining big tents to partition political positions but genuine need to guarantee a prosperous Zimbabwe after Mugabe is  gone."

Shumba said personally he will not join any coalition which excludes the majority of Zimbabweans who because they are deemed political noneties.

"I will join a platform which puts aside focus on political brand names but that which puts the best team forward regardless of name recognition. The existence of ZimFirst has received the the best brains that have been sitting outside politics but are eager to participate given the right platform. I will not join a platform that seeks to advance the wishes of political brand names at the expense of Zimbabweans who have the expertise to provide a lasting solution to problems bedeviling our country at the moment. I will only join a platform a which puts country and people first and not Self- First platform," he said.