Why would they bother to infiltrate his party to try and find out what is going on when Zanu (PF) ministers and Politburo members are falling over each other in their desperate attempts to brief American diplomats? Foreign diplomats do not need to waste their time and resources infiltrating the party when they have all the information they need, supplied freely by those in the know.
Gumbo appears to be critical of the recent meeting between American Ambassador Charles Ray and President Robert Mugabe, which he regards as “dubious” and “on the pretext of mending bilateral ties”.
We know that senior Zanu (PF) officials no longer have any faith in Mugabe and would like to see the back of him, but certainly we don’t think that they need to worry about him giving their secrets to the Americans.
If Zanu (PF) is incapable of realising that contacts with the outside world – at every possible level – are important for our country, then we have a serious problem. Zimbabwe must engage the international community. We have been a pariah for far too long.
Constructive engagement and sharing views with friend and foe alike is a mark of political maturity and statesmanship. Gumbo’s paranoia, which is widespread in the party, has been the hallmark of its dealings with the West for far too long now.
It is high time they realised that the world is not against Zimbabwe per se, it is against the mis-governance and unbridled human rights abuses that have characterised Zanu (PF)’s reign.
Far from attributing evil motives to those trying to engage with the government of Zimbabwe, Zanu (PF) should embrace these overtures in the national interest.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga