President Mugabe is going nowhere

Dr Ignatius Chombo
There have been calls by some sections in Zimbabwe that President Robert Mugabe should leave office as leader of Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe. There are three reasons why such calls are futile. Firstly, President Mugabe received a resounding five-year electoral mandate in 2013 from the people of Zimbabwe. How can he abandon the mandate that he democratically received and which expires in 2018?

Secondly, based on the electoral mandate, President Mugabe has commitments by way of his party’s electoral manifesto that was then turned into a Government policy agenda, Zim-Asset.

He is working tirelessly to deliver on those promises. Zimbabwe’s hopes and aspirations are premised on that.

Those same oppositional elements have been campaigning hard against the re-engagement with creditor nations and institutions.

This is the same negative spirit that inspired them to invite sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe.

Everyone can now see the anti-people nature of these opposition figures.

President Mugabe and his team in Government will not get tired of doing what is best for the people of Zimbabwe.

Thirdly, President Mugabe has been presented by his own party, Zanu-PF, as its candidate after he was endorsed as its leader until 2019.

This means in 2018, President Mugabe will be the electoral candidate for Zanu-PF as he has to serve his five-year tenure.

Therefore, President Mugabe is going nowhere.

◆ Dr Ignatius Chombo is the Zanu-PF National Secretary for Administration and also Minister of Home Affairs