Opinion / Columnist
Nothing can jolts President Mugabe
03 Feb 2016 at 13:07hrs | Views
The First Lady Dr Amai Grace Mugabe spent most of her time last year going around the country meeting various people in which she ended up addressing multitudes of people who gathered to meet her during her tours. Her addresses were as candid as she wanted to make sure people know that ZANU PF was vibrant and alive even though there were no elections.
The First Lady's countrywide tours which were also broadcast live on national television showed that ZANU PF was always on the ground meeting its members and supporters. The tours made by the First Lady Dr Amai Grace Mugabe countrywide were necessary as the revolutionary party managed to assess the situation in which people were going through in various provinces. This resulted in the First Lady making sure that agricultural equipment and inputs were distributed to the needy so that people get something to take up as they prepared their land.
Surprisingly the Newsday of 2 February 2016 came up with a screaming headline saying, Mujuru campaign jolts Mugabe, Tsvangirai. In that article the Newsday sought to tell its readers that President Mugabe and the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai were beginning to meet the people because of the fear of losing supporters to the People First project. The Newsday went further saying that President Mugabe's address to the ZANIU PF supporters at the airport on his return from the AU summit in Ethiopia in which he said that he would be meeting them in their provinces was a sign that he was afraid of Mujuru's People First project. In the same article it was reported that Tsvangirai has already started meeting his supporters around the country as a counter measure to the People First's emergency on the political limelight.
The Newsday's analysis of events cannot be totally thrown away if it concerns the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai because he is the one who can be concerned with the emergency of another perceived powerful opposition political party in the country. It is true that there is a need for Tsvangirai to be jolted by the emergency of the People First project because the coming in of any opposition political party in the country is a threat to Tsvangirai's position in the political arena. Tsvangirai who has been receiving continuous support from the opposition field tends to lose that support as people are bound to welcome the coming in of the People First in the country hence there is need for him to worry.
On the other hand it should be made clear to the readers of the Newsday that President Robert G Mugabe cannot be jolted by the emergency of the People First project as it is not the first perceived powerful opposition political party to emerge in the country since 1980. President Mugabe has seen it all since the time when the former ZANU PF Secretary General Edgar Tekere came up with his Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM).
Some people thought that with ZUM coming in the political sphere it was the end of ZANU PF but ZUM came and fizzled out. Even the coming in of the MDC in 1999 was seen as a threat to the reign of President Mugabe and his ZANU PF party. Actually the MDC which came out with the backing of the western world coupled with some labour unions' support in the country was seen as a party which was going take over the leadership of the country. Most people saw the MDC as an alternative party to ZANU PF in running the country. But like what people always say, everything is now history. The MDC failed to take power from ZANU PF and this could stand as a lesson to the People First project as well as the journalists in the Newsday.
The MDC which since from 1999 split to several opposition political parties ended up with the main opposition party identified as MDC-T which is now under Morgan Tsvangirai. Even the MDC family are now puzzled with how the once powerful opposition political party failed to wrestle power from the revolutionary party ZANU PF. So for the Newsday to say that President Mugabe can be jolted by the emergency of the People First project is beyond the actual facts and reality of events.
Actually ZANU PF cannot be worried by the emergency of the People First project as it is full of the ZANU PF rejects who think that they can salvage something as they were dumped out by the ruling party. The fact that the People First is being spearheaded by the former Vice President of ZANU PF Joyce Mujuru who for the past thirty-four (34) years was in the ruling party failing to revive the economy which she now claims she would build raises a lot of questions than answers.
If Mujuru is genuine in her People First project, she could have not abetted ZANU PF in all its policies which she claims she would reform when in power. Actually Mujuru is a power hungry individual who only wants to satisfy her wallet. During her time in ZANU PF, Mujuru did not see anything wrong coming out from ZANU PF and now what would make her become the darling of the people yet she failed them during her time in ZANU PF. Is that not folly for Mujuru to mislead the people into thinking that she can revive the economy when she failed to do the same when she was still the Vice President of Zimbabwe.
Such a handicap by Mujuru in which she failed to revive the economic doldrums while in government makes President Mugabe to feel comfortable in that her party will fall the same way how others which came before her fizzled out. Even the euphoria among the people saying that the People First is something ever to happen in the country cannot make it viable. People should realise that it was the same with ZUM, the MDC, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn and others which fizzled out like the morning dew facing the rampaging heat of the rising sun leaving ZANU PF in power and the People First would not be exceptional. So People First would like others fizzle out meaning that there is no need for President Mugabe to jolt about because of Mujuru's coming into political limelight.
Only the MDC-T has something to worry because the coming in of the People First would give people the room to talk about another opposition party instead of ever talking about the MDC-T and hoping that one day it would take over the leadership of Zimbabwe from ZANU PF. So the Newsday should now focus its advice to the MDC-T which is now facing extinction. ZANU PF is there to stay.
The First Lady's countrywide tours which were also broadcast live on national television showed that ZANU PF was always on the ground meeting its members and supporters. The tours made by the First Lady Dr Amai Grace Mugabe countrywide were necessary as the revolutionary party managed to assess the situation in which people were going through in various provinces. This resulted in the First Lady making sure that agricultural equipment and inputs were distributed to the needy so that people get something to take up as they prepared their land.
Surprisingly the Newsday of 2 February 2016 came up with a screaming headline saying, Mujuru campaign jolts Mugabe, Tsvangirai. In that article the Newsday sought to tell its readers that President Mugabe and the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai were beginning to meet the people because of the fear of losing supporters to the People First project. The Newsday went further saying that President Mugabe's address to the ZANIU PF supporters at the airport on his return from the AU summit in Ethiopia in which he said that he would be meeting them in their provinces was a sign that he was afraid of Mujuru's People First project. In the same article it was reported that Tsvangirai has already started meeting his supporters around the country as a counter measure to the People First's emergency on the political limelight.
The Newsday's analysis of events cannot be totally thrown away if it concerns the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai because he is the one who can be concerned with the emergency of another perceived powerful opposition political party in the country. It is true that there is a need for Tsvangirai to be jolted by the emergency of the People First project because the coming in of any opposition political party in the country is a threat to Tsvangirai's position in the political arena. Tsvangirai who has been receiving continuous support from the opposition field tends to lose that support as people are bound to welcome the coming in of the People First in the country hence there is need for him to worry.
On the other hand it should be made clear to the readers of the Newsday that President Robert G Mugabe cannot be jolted by the emergency of the People First project as it is not the first perceived powerful opposition political party to emerge in the country since 1980. President Mugabe has seen it all since the time when the former ZANU PF Secretary General Edgar Tekere came up with his Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM).
Some people thought that with ZUM coming in the political sphere it was the end of ZANU PF but ZUM came and fizzled out. Even the coming in of the MDC in 1999 was seen as a threat to the reign of President Mugabe and his ZANU PF party. Actually the MDC which came out with the backing of the western world coupled with some labour unions' support in the country was seen as a party which was going take over the leadership of the country. Most people saw the MDC as an alternative party to ZANU PF in running the country. But like what people always say, everything is now history. The MDC failed to take power from ZANU PF and this could stand as a lesson to the People First project as well as the journalists in the Newsday.
The MDC which since from 1999 split to several opposition political parties ended up with the main opposition party identified as MDC-T which is now under Morgan Tsvangirai. Even the MDC family are now puzzled with how the once powerful opposition political party failed to wrestle power from the revolutionary party ZANU PF. So for the Newsday to say that President Mugabe can be jolted by the emergency of the People First project is beyond the actual facts and reality of events.
Actually ZANU PF cannot be worried by the emergency of the People First project as it is full of the ZANU PF rejects who think that they can salvage something as they were dumped out by the ruling party. The fact that the People First is being spearheaded by the former Vice President of ZANU PF Joyce Mujuru who for the past thirty-four (34) years was in the ruling party failing to revive the economy which she now claims she would build raises a lot of questions than answers.
If Mujuru is genuine in her People First project, she could have not abetted ZANU PF in all its policies which she claims she would reform when in power. Actually Mujuru is a power hungry individual who only wants to satisfy her wallet. During her time in ZANU PF, Mujuru did not see anything wrong coming out from ZANU PF and now what would make her become the darling of the people yet she failed them during her time in ZANU PF. Is that not folly for Mujuru to mislead the people into thinking that she can revive the economy when she failed to do the same when she was still the Vice President of Zimbabwe.
Such a handicap by Mujuru in which she failed to revive the economic doldrums while in government makes President Mugabe to feel comfortable in that her party will fall the same way how others which came before her fizzled out. Even the euphoria among the people saying that the People First is something ever to happen in the country cannot make it viable. People should realise that it was the same with ZUM, the MDC, Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn and others which fizzled out like the morning dew facing the rampaging heat of the rising sun leaving ZANU PF in power and the People First would not be exceptional. So People First would like others fizzle out meaning that there is no need for President Mugabe to jolt about because of Mujuru's coming into political limelight.
Only the MDC-T has something to worry because the coming in of the People First would give people the room to talk about another opposition party instead of ever talking about the MDC-T and hoping that one day it would take over the leadership of Zimbabwe from ZANU PF. So the Newsday should now focus its advice to the MDC-T which is now facing extinction. ZANU PF is there to stay.
Source - John Mukumbo
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