The Sunday Mail
Obert Mpofu
THE outcome of the ZANU PF provincial election as free, fair and credible proclaims the revolutionary party’s strengthened internal democracy system.
As the mother of democracy in Zimbabwe, ZANU PF cannot afford to be led by imposed political figures in all its structures. This explains the party’s conformity to its own constitution to conduct internal democracy processes such as the just-ended provincial election.
At a national level — and as a pro-people initiative, democratisation preserves its organic function, essence, substance and relevance provided it accords citizens the right to be in control of their political affairs.
Democracy is a conduit to citizen participation in the broader scope of public policy and governance. This generic definition of democracy and its nexus to citizen engagement within the confines of electoral processes is important in articulating the role of ZANU PF in parenting democracy before and after Zimbabwe’s Independence.
Our recently held party elections epitomise our traditional alignment to democracy at a broader national level. Therefore, our internal election processes depict a holistic national approach to citizen involvement in the running of the State.
Given the premium, which any election places on popular participation, ZANU PF subscribes to the view that elections must be of high integrity which is measured in terms of its magnitude of compliance to the law.
Election credibility is founded on transparency, accountability, competition and participation. The opposite of these cardinal election integrity principles produces illegitimate election outcomes.
To this end, ZANU PF must be commended for delivering an election which was marked by transparency, accountability and high participation levels. However, it is common cause that our existential intruders in the form of the opposition — its surrogate Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and “independent/private” media will run narratives which distort the outcome of our elections.
It would be futile for any rational observer of politics to expect our internal democracy processes to be endorsed by our detractors.
It is reasonable within the comforts of their propaganda ingenuity or lack thereof for them to problematise the credibility of a ZANU PF internal election process. It is in their own interest that they misrepresent the true meaning of democracy within the ZANU PF body-politick.
Again, there is no truth in entirely arguing that ZANU PF is headed towards by-elections as a divided party.
We are mobilising all our structures for an uncontested win of the coming by-elections.
The just-ended internal election process served as a litmus test for our voter mobilisation capacity. The election also reinforced our confidence in knowing that our structures are alive from the cell going upwards.
The election turnout was huge; the hype was incomparable. This proves that we are still a strong mass party. We may have some of our members expressing interpersonal contradictions, but that does not entail acute conflict within the party. It is normal that after any election contradictions between erstwhile contesting candidates emerge, you find that across all political parties in the world.
That is not unique to ZANU PF.
As indicated by our President Cde E.D Mnangagwa, “there are no winners and losers” . . . in internal ZANU PF processes.
It would be obscene for an election to come and go without contentious discourses accompanying it. However, it is scientifically abominable to equate these euphoric whispers to tension climaxes in ZANU PF.
At the same time, we would be irrational to expect the opposition’s external’s ideological proxies to commend ZANU PF for a successful nationwide internal democracy process.
In fact, we do not expect any lectures on democracy from global dictators who denied us democracy until we had to demand it through the barrel of the gun.
We expect no democracy tutorials from nations pursuing sectoral interests in Zimbabwe to the extent of using multilateral organisations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to deny us access to capital.
Regardless of this neo-colonially arrogant disregard of our democracy and the continued smear campaign on Zimbabwe by the Anglo-American propaganda machinery, we are resolute in guarding the moral premise of our liberation. With or without colonial validation, we remain determined to assert our place in improving the socio-economic living standards of our people.
Therefore, the now ZANU PF-reinforced provincial structures should be transformed to fortified provincial economic hubs.
ZANU PF as a party of Zimbabwe’s political-economy liberation must ensure that its provincial structures are well configured with provincial economies.
ZANU PF must take the lead in guaranteeing inclusive access to national resources by all Zimbabweans. Secondary preference to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) interests must be accommodated with a view of creating alternative means of capital in a bid to eliminate our subjugation to the hegemonic Anglo-American linked credit lines.
At the centre of all our provincial economies, local innovation must be financed through the Government and the party should take the lead in encouraging strong investor confidence in our provinces.
Guided by the Zimbabwe is Open for Business proposition, the corporate world must be brought to the discussion table by the party to facilitate economic incentivising initiatives for the development of all our provinces.
The party must establish strong ties with the business community to offer a nationalist driven direction to promoting our local brands and industry.
The setting up of new leadership structures in our provinces must go beyond strengthened political growth, but this should also usher a new path to the revitalisation of our provincial economies.
Dr Obert Moses Mpofu is the ZANU PF’s secretary for administration in the Politburo. Feedback, Twitter: @DrObertMpofu
