The Sunday Mail
The Sharp Shooter: Vukani Madoda
Phew! Now that 2016 is almost gone, we can look back at its highlights that were riddled with silly and directionless demonstrations, bare-knuckle fights within Zanu PF and a bond note that miraculously gained public confidence on the backdrop of a wanton and unprecedented backlash against its introduction.
Silly demonstrations
This is the year that one notorious Evan Mawarire managed to use and abuse the general public for his own private gain. Sitting in his empty house in Avondale one day early this year, he posted a video on social media lamenting that the Zimbabwe flag no longer represented his aspirations as a man.
He later admitted that is was because he was failing to take care of his family, failing to send his daughters to school and failing to provide for his pregnant wife. Therefore he took to beret his own national flag, ostensibly for not providing him enough opportunities to raise his standard of living.
Soon, he was joined by other lazy-bones and failures who could not take care of their families or send their children to school. Indeed, he was joined by those that could only make women pregnant but could not take care of them and the children.
It became what has since been forgotten as #ThisFlag campaign. Just as he had planned, as we were to learn later on, he was incarcerated and arraigned before the courts facing charges of treason or attempting to subvert a constitutionally elected Government.
Be that as it may, he was acquitted on a technicality and before we knew it, the chap was granted asylum in the United States. His mission was complete. Done and dusted.
His gullible followers were left in limbo – clueless and leaderless and unable to proceed with their silly demonstrations until Promise Mkwananzi grabbed the ripe opportunity to form a splinter group called #Tajamuka.
With #Tajamuka, the demonstrations became sillier and sillier and one desperate mother of five called Linda Mu-something-something spent the better part of the year at Chikurubi maximum prison, leaving her offspring to fend for themselves in this harsh economic environment.
Well, after her release from prison, this Linda torched a tribal storm as she bemoaned the people of Matabeleland for being cowards who are unable to jamuka. Those remarks ended the advent of these directionless protests and demonstrations. The activists immediately became divided and as expected, as 2016 comes to an end, so does #Tajamuka.
Factionalism and succession
In the ruling party, incredible and melodramatic events also unfolded with a number of well-to-do cadres being either suspended or expelled for one misdemeanour or another. The most frightening battles were between team Lacoste and G40 which culminated in a very surprising Zanu PF by-election defeat to independent candidate Temba Mliswa in Norton.
So vicious have been the fights that members of the same party are clutching at each other’s throats, forgetting that there is an opposition that is bent on a regime change agenda in this country.
The most surprising realisation is that the Lacoste–G40 dogfights use more negative energy and retrogressive strength than they would ordinarily do against MDC-T or ZimPF. This is the year in which being a member of Zanu PF meant you had to carry a surname called Lacoste or G40.
Many a time, I would meet fellow Cdes who would quickly introduce me as, “This is Cde Vukani, he is one of us in Lacoste.” At other times, others would give me a call lamenting, “Cde Vukani, you seem to be supporting G40 in your articles. Cde where do you stand?”
The factionalism has truly been ugly in 2016 and it is all in a bid to further successionist agendas. Right now, the only mortar that is holding Zanu PF together is Cde Mugabe. With him gone, I shudder to think what will become of my beloved Zanu PF party.
In fact, I have since realised why the opposition forces are so opposed to Cde Mugabe’s leadership, they are fully aware that with him at the helm of Zanu PF, the party will continue to solidly romp to victory because he is a unique unifier.
Cde Mugabe’s priorities are forward-looking and futuristic. He knows how to keep Zanu PF in power. If I had my way, I would never want to see the day he is succeeded, the thought is frightening.
Cash crisis
The year 2016 will end on a low note because of the biting cash-crisis. The queues are back. Sleeping in queues is back. Withdrawal limits are back. Unscrupulous elements that sell cash for a premium are back.
But let us look to the bright side and give credit where it is due. The bond note, a Zanu PF Government initiative through the central bank, has been accepted. Everywhere within the borders of Zimbabwe is taking the bond note as legal tender.
It has gained so much confidence that it continues to trade at one is to one against the US dollar. In fact, the bond note is the strongest African currency at the moment. The central bank must be applauded for introducing it in small batches of low denominations.
As it stands with this current cash crisis, depositors are crying out for bond notes. Forget the silly demonstrations by #Tajamuka against the notes because even their members are using them as legal tender.
In fact, let’s just forget about the silly demonstrations because the bond notes have opened their regime change agenda cracks wide open!
— Dubulaizitha!
