The Sunday Mail
While it is given that the life of any revolutionary movement is defined by its ability to continue attracting membership through an enduring ideological framework, Zanu-PF lacked a rigorous orientation process after the liberation struggle.
The factional fights playing out in Zanu-PF are symptomatic of serious under-currents that have for long festered, until First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe entered the political fray.
The issues raised by Amai Mugabe are of a fundamental nature as they locate the morass behind the inability of the ruling party to deliver on its otherwise well-crafted policies.
There are five main issues that come to the fore in contextualising the “Meet the People Tour” by Amai Mugabe.
The first concerns absorption of new members into Zanu-PF ranks in the post-liberation period.
While it is given that the life of any revolutionary movement is defined by its ability to continue attracting membership through an enduring ideological framework, Zanu-PF lacked a rigorous orientation process after the liberation struggle.
As such, the party slackened in its endeavour to critically orient new members to have a deeper understanding of its founding ideological principles.
In the absence of a rigorous foundational induction or orientation process, some new members failed to entrench themselves within the party’s belief system and, therefore, became easy instruments for manipulation.
The majority of such members exhibit serious hedonistic tendencies driven by lack of understanding and appreciation of the party’s ideology.
The second issue is the fact some within its ranks were primarily motivated by selfish ends to join politics as now reflected by their construction of a patronage system that marginalises those who resist their selfish whims.
The patronage system created the idea that you are either with or against us and it had a serious destabilising effect.
The third issue concerns some very senior members who misconstrued President Mugabe’s magnanimous nature as weakness and have created fiefdoms to the point of being too cosy with delegated power.
It is regrettable that such senior leaders lack the basic understanding that real power resides in the one who appoints; who also has the power to dismiss an individual whose behaviour would have failed the test of competent and exemplary leadership.
A patronage system and creation of fiefdoms is a clear manifestation of abuse of public office which creates fertile ground for corruption.
If allegations that Vice President Joice Mujuru used her office to improperly benefit personal companies are true, then the honourable thing for her to do is resign.
Fourth, some senior party members usurped internal democratic processes in their quest for power and control, leading to creation of parallel power structures.
Creation of parallel structures of power was not just meant to protect ill-gotten riches but was also a clear attempt to prepare for a palace coup.
The fifth issue concerns the contagion effect that the tussle for power and control had on critical institutions of State governance, with public officials replicating the politicians and acting factionally.
In light of this rampant rot, it was pertinent for Amai Mugabe to call a spade a spade so that the party could start ridding itself of bad apples.
As Women’s League Secretary-elect, Amai Mugabe saw the need for a serious reorientation.
Her tour was crucial as its thrust was ultimately to stop developments that threatened to blight the revolutionary party’s pro-poor and pro-majority grounding.
Instead of consolidating its position derived from a massive electoral victory in 2013, Zanu-PF was getting bogged down by factional thinking.
It is a fact that the First Lady’s actions have provoked members out of their complacency of thinking that all is well and yet things are not.
Needless to say, Amai Mugabe is privy to information that is not within the public domain, and this spurred her to act.
And in articulating these issues not apparent to the general public, the First Lady’s personal glamour, wit and style of delivery conveyed a sense of vitality, elegance and boldness hitherto unmatched.
In order to deal with the urgent need of service delivery, the party must realise that some of its traditional tenets of leadership selection may now need remodelling.
The party needs a new paradigm far from the simple “seniority” criterion and must identify cadres with the necessary expertise and sophistication for effective implementation of Government policies.
In summation, Zanu-PF needs to address fundamental issues of governance and address the rot exposed by the present introspection. It cannot be business as usual and the December Congress must seriously give direction and add new impetus in carrying forward the programme of economic delivery as enshrined in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation.
