Opinion / Columnist
Mliswa is out of touch with reality
18 Feb 2016 at 13:38hrs | Views
Former ZANU-PF Hurungwe West Member of Parliament, Temba Mliswa's utterances' that President Mugabe is has no respect for war veterans and that President Mugabe must tolerate gays and lesbians in the country to access foreign funding proclaims that the man might be suffering from a mental problem hence out of touch with reality.
Mliswa claims to be the voice of the voiceless while in actual fact he is a wounded chap who is still healing from his expulsion from the ruling party, ZANU PF.
The ex-legislator's critic that President Mugabe was a civilian and has no respect for war veterans is a false proclamation which should not be considered as true.
If he is not aware, Mliswa should be encouraged that President Mugabe was among the war veterans who freed this country in 1977 since he was in full control of ZANU's political and military fronts as the Commander in Chief in that war.
The way Mliswa plays his politics is somehow confusing as he seems to be out of his mind each time he is given the forum to air his views. Temba should therefore be encouraged that politics should be logical, rather than senselessly trying to seek a political home to stay.
Zimbabweans should avoid listening to poor factionalists like Mliswa who have nothing tangible to offer to the nation that assists in economy development. One would certainly wonder why Mliswa didn't raise same sentiments when former Vice President Mujuru was exposed from the ruling party.
From the look of things, Temba doesn't know where his political ground is. The grapes have suddenly turned sour for Mliswa hence uttering such foolish and illogical political statements.
When taking a closer look at the history of the welfare of war veterans, one can safely conclude that President Mugabe has the interest of the freedom fighters. In 1996, the Government enacted the War Veterans Act to cater for the welfare of the former fighters. The Act was meant to provide for the establishment of schemes for the provision of assistance to war veterans and their dependants; to provide for the establishment of a fund to finance such assistance…(War Veterans Act: Chapter 11:15, 1996).
As the war veteran's patron, President Mugabe has respect for war liberators. He unveiled a Ministry specifically for War Veterans, War Collaborators, former Political Detainees and Restrictees which caters for their well being. This alone, depicts how compassionate the President is for the freedom fighters.
Homosexuality can be defined as sexual activity with a person of the same sex. Such sexual activities are not accepted in the Zimbabwean culture and have also been watered down by the President.
In his speech during a United Nations General Assembly in last year, President Mugabe castigated the idea of homosexuality.
"We reject attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs,"
"We are not gays," President Mugabe declared.
So, who is Mliswa, to say that President Mugabe must accept gays and lesbians in the country? Mliswa was quoted in a local daily press nonsensically saying ignoring the issue of homosexuality does not help the country.
Contrary to the former MPs argument, most people believe that there are better ways that the country can do to mobilize funds other than homosexuality.
According to Section 78 (3) of the Constitution, under marriage rights, persons of the same sex are prohibited from marrying each other. How then can homosexuality be made acceptable a thing which is against the law.
Most African countries are against the idea of homosexuality as it is considered as illegal. In Kenya, homosexuality was actually outlawed under British colonial legislation.
Written reports have it that homosexuality was discovered in couple of centuries ago, and the first trace of homosexuality was in Rome, when a man figured he can get sex from his gender.
Mliswa should be urged that homosexuality violates our religious and cultural beliefs. It's actually a taboo for a man to marry a man in Zimbabwe. Such practices do not build the economy instead they destroy it. One would wonder what foreign funding is the leader of Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard) waffling about.
According to human rights group Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in 36 out of 54 African countries and punishable by death in four countries.
Mliswa claims to be the voice of the voiceless while in actual fact he is a wounded chap who is still healing from his expulsion from the ruling party, ZANU PF.
The ex-legislator's critic that President Mugabe was a civilian and has no respect for war veterans is a false proclamation which should not be considered as true.
If he is not aware, Mliswa should be encouraged that President Mugabe was among the war veterans who freed this country in 1977 since he was in full control of ZANU's political and military fronts as the Commander in Chief in that war.
The way Mliswa plays his politics is somehow confusing as he seems to be out of his mind each time he is given the forum to air his views. Temba should therefore be encouraged that politics should be logical, rather than senselessly trying to seek a political home to stay.
Zimbabweans should avoid listening to poor factionalists like Mliswa who have nothing tangible to offer to the nation that assists in economy development. One would certainly wonder why Mliswa didn't raise same sentiments when former Vice President Mujuru was exposed from the ruling party.
From the look of things, Temba doesn't know where his political ground is. The grapes have suddenly turned sour for Mliswa hence uttering such foolish and illogical political statements.
When taking a closer look at the history of the welfare of war veterans, one can safely conclude that President Mugabe has the interest of the freedom fighters. In 1996, the Government enacted the War Veterans Act to cater for the welfare of the former fighters. The Act was meant to provide for the establishment of schemes for the provision of assistance to war veterans and their dependants; to provide for the establishment of a fund to finance such assistance…(War Veterans Act: Chapter 11:15, 1996).
As the war veteran's patron, President Mugabe has respect for war liberators. He unveiled a Ministry specifically for War Veterans, War Collaborators, former Political Detainees and Restrictees which caters for their well being. This alone, depicts how compassionate the President is for the freedom fighters.
Homosexuality can be defined as sexual activity with a person of the same sex. Such sexual activities are not accepted in the Zimbabwean culture and have also been watered down by the President.
"We reject attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs,"
"We are not gays," President Mugabe declared.
So, who is Mliswa, to say that President Mugabe must accept gays and lesbians in the country? Mliswa was quoted in a local daily press nonsensically saying ignoring the issue of homosexuality does not help the country.
Contrary to the former MPs argument, most people believe that there are better ways that the country can do to mobilize funds other than homosexuality.
According to Section 78 (3) of the Constitution, under marriage rights, persons of the same sex are prohibited from marrying each other. How then can homosexuality be made acceptable a thing which is against the law.
Most African countries are against the idea of homosexuality as it is considered as illegal. In Kenya, homosexuality was actually outlawed under British colonial legislation.
Written reports have it that homosexuality was discovered in couple of centuries ago, and the first trace of homosexuality was in Rome, when a man figured he can get sex from his gender.
Mliswa should be urged that homosexuality violates our religious and cultural beliefs. It's actually a taboo for a man to marry a man in Zimbabwe. Such practices do not build the economy instead they destroy it. One would wonder what foreign funding is the leader of Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard) waffling about.
According to human rights group Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in 36 out of 54 African countries and punishable by death in four countries.
Source - Sibusiso Ndlamini
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