'Mugabe must implement devolution'

Former Vice President Joice Mujuru's Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) has condemned the Zanu-PF government's failure to implement the concept of devolution that is provided for in the country's Constitution.

Addressing hundreds of ZPF supporters at the weekend during a meeting in Bulawayo, the constituency's provincial coordinator Esnath Bulayani said the current government was ignorant of the laws that govern this country.

"The issues contained in our Constitution on devolution of power to the people have been flagrantly ignored by the current regime," Bulayani said.

"As the people of Zimbabwe spoke during the Constitution-making process during the Government of National Unity (GNU), all the contents of our Constitution will be implemented."

Sections 264 and 265 of the country's Constitution call for the devolution of government powers and responsibilities, but three years after the Constitution was adopted, Zimbabwe has not yet complied with such constitutional requirements.

Bulayani said what the President Robert Mugabe-led government has done, is tantamount to taking the masses who voted them into power for granted, adding that by so doing the former revolutionary party has simply spelt doom for itself.

In February, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa told Senate that the government does not have money to set up provincial councils, an assertion which was quickly dismissed by political analysts who argued that there was a clear lack of political will on the part of Zanu-PF.

Bulayani told the gathering here that, "We can no longer take our people for a ride and say the government has no money to implement provincial councils as enshrined in our Constitution. Constitutionalism is key in taking Zimbabwe forward."

Zanu-PF initially resisted devolution arguing that the notion was being pushed by those bent on promoting regionalism, federalism or secessionism and that the country was too small for the system to work well.

Bulayani described ZPF as social democrats and a people-oriented party.

"The founding principles of our party are that we are social democrats who will, when in power after the 2018 general elections, usher in a new socio-political dispensation founded on fairness, equitable allocation of our national resources and strict adherence to constitutionalism."

She further noted that, ZPF will upon assuming power restore the middle class which has for long been non-existent under Zanu-PF.

"The middle class is where the majority of people belong. This is a global phenomenon and a generally accepted way of life. We will restore the pride of our teachers, nurses and all the middle class professionals who have been relegated to the lower echelons of the society," she told the gathering.

She bemoaned the way Zanu-PF has brought misery to the lives of people in Bulawayo once the country's industrial hub zone.

"Members will recall that Bulawayo was the industrial hub of Zimbabwe, and now the current government has turned it into a ghost town, with a lot of potholes, water rationing and empty promises. This illustrates lack of planning and irresponsible attitude towards this city and lip service is paid to address these services," she remarked.

Bulayani challenged ZPF members to get geared up for the 2018 elections, a period in which she said their only intention is to "pluck ourselves out of the socio-political quagmire that Zanu-PF has thrown us into".