I'll never go back to Zanu-PF, says Mliswa

Former Hurungwe West MP Temba Mliswa has vowed never to go back to Zanu-PF, which has failed to meet its 2013 election promises, adding that President Robert Mugabe is a stumbling block to the country's economic potential.

The former Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial chairperson said the governing party is not sincere and will not meet any of its electoral promises.

"Clearly, they (Zanu-PF government) have failed to perform. That leads me to the question, will I ever go back to Zanu-PF? No," he said.

"…and I think there is what is called child abuse, but Zanu-PF is now exercising adult abuse on the president. He is a senior citizen. The president needs to rest, the president right now has a family which is growing…makorokoto kuna president vane muzukuru, but nguva yasvikawo futi kuti vaitewo nguva nemuzukuru wavo, vachiri kugona kumhanya…(congratulations to the president, he now has a grandchild, but it is now time for him to retire and spend time with his grandchild, while he still has the power)," he said.

He, however, said Zanu-PF should be open to Mugabe and tell him to retire.

"…you can see that even Zanu-PF is under pressure from what they promised people in their manifesto, which they have not done, they promised employment to the youths, 2, 2 million jobs, ... $15 billion is missing…corruption is still rampant,…every high level person is looking at a way of surviving and they want to control the little that is there, forgetting that they have a mandate of looking after the people," he said.

He said Zanu-PF is full of hypocrites.

"The evil and bad of Zanu-PF is where they talk black but they act white, in that they will tell you don't engage with white people, but there is no Zanu-PF official including the president himself, who is not doing business with the whites. They all engage with whites, the Americans and the British but they have been telling us pasi nemaBritish, pasi nemasanctions (down with the British, down with the sanctions),...they talk about sanctions yet they are driving cars made from those very countries that have imposed sanctions.

"How hypocritical is that?...These are populist statements they make to the people…there is no Zimbabwean car any of our high-ranking officials is driving. The president still goes to officially open Parliament in a Rolls Royce, what is Zimbabwean about that?" he queried.

Though Mliswa made a vow never to return to Zanu-PF, he still contends his expulsion was done unconstitutionally.

He criticised Mugabe over the way he treats his fellow war comrades.

He said war veterans are poorer than ever thanks to the nonagenarian's ruinous policies.

Mliswa added that war veterans were being treated like children, who are ''silenced'' by sweets.

He further urged People's Democratic Party leader Tendai Biti and MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai and the rest of the opposition politicians to work together and capitalise on Zanu-PF's disunity.

Mliswa further said government must embrace the whites to turn around the economy, adding that culturally, it was clear that Zimbabweans were peasant farmers and not commercial farmers, which means they have a lot to learn from the whites.