What we have is nothing but a government of disunity. Nothing has really changed. There is no rule of law. The greed, lies, deceit, hatred and violence are still with us, albeit on a more sophisticated scale.
The only noticeable change is that we are now using US currency and there are South African goods in shops. What is frightening is that things are now coming to a head without any planned and discernible direction. Zimbabwe is like a train which has come off the rails and is going full steam ahead. Where to? Only God knows.
Our newspapers are full of warnings from concerned prophetic writers who see doom ahead. We would do well to heed these dire warnings. Some blinkered, self-seeking politicians would like to comfort themselves by saying the revolutions taking place in the Arab world cannot happen here because our situations are different.
Don’t be fooled. Human nature is the same the world over. The human spirit can never be put in a cage and controlled for any length of time. People will rise up and use any and all means to be free to order their lives as they wish. They don’t need Western countries or NATO to influence them.
I am not a doomsday prophet. I sincerely believe that God has a special place in His heart for Zimbabwe and has laid at our feet the ingredients for a peaceful and prosperous future. The tribulations that we have gone through were not for our destruction but for us to learn from and be toughened for the task of nation building ahead. I believe Zimbabwe is destined for great things.
The first thing we have in our favour is the Government of National Unity. Let’s make it work as the transitional instrument that it is supposed to be. For this to happen all people of goodwill, in all political parties and in civil society must stand up for the truth and be counted, especially those who are Christians. Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC-T have upheld their end of the Agreement and been patient to a fault. The ball is in Zanu (PF)’s court.
But for anything positive to happen our old man, Comrade Robert Mugabe must be retired from its leadership. Seven, if not eight, times this year he has had to be hurriedly flown to Singapore for medical attention. His ailment is immaterial. The truth is that Mugabe is old, tired and sick. Some of us are in our early 70s but are already full of aches and pains. He needs to go home to Zvimba and rest in peace.
Age and illness are not the only reasons for Mugabe to go now. The man and his party have run the country into the ground and the people know it. There is now no way they can win in a free and fair election. They will be lucky to win a couple of seats. If Mugabe stands for the presidency, as he would like to, the much younger Morgan Tsvangirai will definitely trounce him.
He will not be the only one to lose. There are a number of men and women in Zanu (PF) who are doing the best they can for the country under very difficult conditions and deserve seats in the next parliament. With Mugabe at the head, they will not stand a chance.
For Zanu (PF) to have a fair chance in any future, free and fair elections, it must retire Mugabe and his cronies and field young and vibrant candidates. Vice-President Amai Joice Mujuru has the respect of most Zimbabweans. She was at the fore-front of the liberation struggle but does not make a song and dance about it. She is the only credible contender for the leadership of Zanu (PF) at the moment. She could give Morgan a run for his money.
I am sure Tsvangirai, as magnanimous as I know him to be, would not be averse to including her, and other Zanu (PF) stalwarts like her, in his cabinet to form a real government of national unity.
Now that Wikileaks has exposed them, realistic Zanu (PF) leaders have nothing to lose. They might as well come out and publicly work to ease the old man out. They have to do that or forget about any political future for themselves. Who they have to contend with are a vocal minority who still sing Mugabe’s praises and insist that he should remain at the helm until he dies. These are afraid of a change in leadership because they have much to hide.
They have to please the old man because he has dossiers on them. Many of them are of a criminal nature and he is protecting them from prosecution. Some of them are nobodies on their own and are what they are today because of his patronage. Without him they are nothing but common thieves. Can the real owners of Zanu (PF) be afraid to challenge those, who founder member Enos Nkala refers to as “mafikizolos” (new comers) who are nothing in the party, or anywhere else, without Mugabe?
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis