The Sunday Mail
Rtd Col Tshinga Dube
The meeting that we had with President Mugabe (last Wednesday) was very important. It was a solidarity meeting where we had a large number of war veterans in attendance to show their comradeship to their patron, President Mugabe.
The interface was not restricted to war veterans; this is why we had people from all walks of life, youths and other Zanu-PF members from all over the country.
Anyone who felt they wanted solidarity with the President were free to attend that meeting.
We had no power to choose the people who would come as it was one’s choice to come.
Before that meeting, there was a lot of confusion among some people and even members of the Press about its purpose.
However, I am sure that after the meeting, everyone was clear what it was all about. As you know, war veterans are divided in terms of the membership of the association. Some of the people who attended the meeting were drawn from the different associations of war veterans.
In his speech, President Mugabe spoke about the need for unity, therefore, we are hoping that war veterans will now be more united after the advice they received from our leader.
One of the most important messages that the President delivered was for a new leadership to be brought in to lead the war veterans.
He spoke as our patron; so we are now going to implement what he said by ensuing we have new leaders for the (Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association).
Following the President’s instruction, we have started to engage with the war veterans to prepare for a special war veterans congress this year.
As it stands, it is very difficult for them to work under the current leadership when their leader, Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa, has been expelled from the party because of behaviour that is against the principles of Zanu-PF.
Although it is a sovereign association, it cannot be separated from the party.
This is because war veterans and Zanu-PF share the same revolutionary principles, and they cannot do without one another.
So, you have to understand that war veterans and Zanu-PF share the same DNA.
War veterans are the people who brought Zanu-PF into being, and, similarly, the party is what it is because of war veterans. The party cannot fold its hands and watch the war veterans’ association going astray.
The party has to take a stand.
President Mugabe took a stance to call for a new leadership of war veterans, and as the Minister responsible, I will work to do what is best for these comrades.
This process of leadership renewal for war veterans is going to be done constitutionally without violating the principles of the association.
We are also going to approach the leader, Cde Mutsvangwa, to persuade him that for the good of the war veterans, he needs to step aside.
After everything that has happened, we feel that Cde Mutsvangwa would be trying the impossible if he wants to continue leading the war veterans.
In the very near future, war veterans are going for a congress where they will choose a new leader. In terms of the dates, I am not at liberty to divulge it.
What needs to be done, though, is that the war veterans need to agree among themselves first. Once they have agreed at district and provincial level, we will then set the dates for the congress.
We have about 34 000 war veterans countrywide, and our intention is that all of them have an input at that congress. As a ministry, we will play a role of facilitating the meeting, ensuring it is a success.
In terms of the communiqué (released on July 21, 2016), we are still investigating who authored that document. What we have found surprising is that no one wants to be held accountable.
That, in itself, indicates something is amiss and there is a big scandal that happened.
I have personally spoken to some war veterans who attended that meeting, and they have said that what was written in the communiqué were not the views they expressed during the meeting.
Yes, they had grievances that they wanted to air, but certainly those grievances did not mean that they could attack their patron.
Right now, the Police and Intelligence are at work to really get to the bottom of the matter.
I am sure all these investigations will give us a full picture of what transpired. Very soon, we will all get to see that the issue will no longer be a mystery. There is every hint that other forces with a different agenda authored/authorised that document.
When my ministry was set up, part of the mandate it was given was to listen to these war veterans. This is why we have an open-door policy where any grievances are brought to our attention.
The Permanent Secretary, Brigadier-General (Retired) Walter Tapfumaneyi, briefs me regularly on the areas that we need to address to ensure these war veterans are happy. We listen to them because they are our colleagues who understand fully how we won our independence and that we can never undermine our independence.
◆ Colonel (Retired) Tshinga Dube is the Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Former Political Detainees and Restrictees. He was speaking to The Sunday Mail’s Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi in Harare last week.
