Zanu-PF must put its house in order before elections

As the country is gearing itself for elections any time soon, there is a worry that Zanu-PF, the only revolutionary party in the country seems to be failing to whip its supporters into aligning themselves with the dictates of the party.

 Instead the party is full of people who are trying to pull each other down instead of putting up programmes of actions that would make the party win the next elections.

In September 2011, Zanu-PF National Political Commissar, Cde Webster Shamu declared that all aspiring Zanu-PF candidates in all elections would be asked to produce their programmes of action to justify why they should be elected.

That was a noble idea from Cde Shamu but the problem Zanu-PF is facing is that there are certain individuals in the party who ignore genuine party cadres in favour of their business associates. They bar potential candidates from contesting in various party seats so that their business associates are not challenged.

In December 2011, when the party held the Annual People's Conference in Bulawayo, there was an agreement that imposition of candidates was not going to be tolerated but indications on the ground show that that resolution just fell on deaf ears.

Few powerful individuals who are bent on making sure that their business associates are not challenged disadvantage potential candidates that may make the party win elections.

Another example is that of Zanu-PF's Mudzi District Co-ordinating Committee elections where Harare top lawyer, Mr. Jonathan Samkange was barred from contesting the seat for flimsy reasons that he has not been the party cadre for a past five years.

The simple reasons why Samkange was barred from contesting that seat was that there are certain powerful Zanu-PF individuals who are not prepared to see him taking part as an active member of Zanu-PF as they prefer their associates instead. They also fear that such people would become more popular and powerful than themselves.

This caliber of barring potential candidates who may defeat imperialist forces in the forthcoming elections may spell doom for the party.

Factional fighting that has now become the order of the day throughout the country must be seriously dealt with before the electorate dumps the revolutionary party.

It is disheartening to see and note that there is some bigwigs who during the day act as if they are supporting the party but behind closed doors are the ones who are working for its downfall.

Currently there is division among the war veterans over plans to have a major cleansing ceremony on July 7, 2012 at Njelele shrine in Matabeleland with some against the idea while others are vowing that they would go.

Zanu-PF must come in to diffuse the tension among the war vets because if left unattended there is a danger that the tension may tear the party apart.

The war vets are now divided among themselves with another section aligned to Jabulani Sibanda, the War Vets Chairman who is against the idea of going to Njelele while the other led by Joseph Chinotimba, the Deputy War Vets leader are vowing that they would go.

With such problems within Zanu-PF followers one may think that the party needs to come down hard on such unruly behaviour among its supporters before the electorate thinks otherwise.

There is no time lost if the party is really prepared to win the next elections. It is better for the party to act swiftly and avoid creating problems among its structures by not attending to such problems.

Imposition of candidates must be done away with. Those with potential chances to lead the party in its various structures must be given the opportunity to represent it.

It is not good to bar potential candidates by just saying he/she has not been in the party for the past five years. If one had not in his lifetime joined other political parties in the country then where was he? Automatically that member belongs to Zanu-PF.

Now Zanu-PF needs to realise that all those who have formed opposition political parties were once Zanu-PF members so those who are still prepared to be identified with this revolutionary party must be given the opportunity to do so.

Some of the members who joined MDC formations did that because of frustrations that they went through at the hands of those who are destroying the party within. In some instances other potential candidates were barred from contesting in the primaries just because they were not loyal to few individuals.

 There was another situation where certain constituencies were said to be reserved for women just because top Zanu-PF members in such a province were not in good books with the potential candidate in that constituency giving away that constituency to the opposition.

For Zanu-PF to win elections the party must start right now to solve division among war vets and also do away with imposition of candidates in its restructuring programmes that are currently underway countrywide.