This special rule makes no sense. If one has been in combat since 1970s, surely one should be eager to take a deserved rest. Recently, police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri collapsed during a pass-out parade for cadets, raising questions about his fitness to remain in the position. He even admitted to stuffing extra clothes under his uniform – only he knows why.
The Defence Forces Service Commission can spin this in any way they please but this is obviously designed to ensure the President rests easily at night. Mugabe is running out of people to trust. Traditionally, the armed forces receive astronomic wage increases but with government struggling to pay salaries, there have been rumours of discontent among the ranks. His comrades in Zanu (PF) are overtly wrangling to succeed him, even before he has stepped down.
It is therefore more imperative now for Mugabe to stick with the ageing Generals who have always backed him. The security chiefs, in apparent reference to Morgan Tsvangirai, openly declared they would never salute a leader without liberation war credentials. Mugabe’s paranoia is the reason he refuses to allow reform of the security sector.
The main reason Mugabe has extended the retirement age of these security chiefs and the reason why all those who were due to retire have heaved a sigh of relief is the economic reality. With the country’s economy in total meltdown any of those security chiefs who retire today will be living in abject poverty within a year at the most!
All these chiefs have big farms, for example, but most of the farms are producing nothing. They have kept the farms to get the free farming loans but since the loans were cancelled last year they have earned nothing from the farm!
What these security chiefs have failed to recognise all these years is that Zimbabwe’s economic model being pushed by Mugabe was unsustainable. They helped Mugabe rig last year’s elections and now they are paying the price with the rest of the nation of Mugabe failing to rig economic recovery! Even if they hang on to their jobs another five years they will not be spare the economic hardship of no running water, no electricity, collapsed health service, etc affecting the rest of us. Soldiers are being asked to take two weeks holiday every month to save of food bill; generals will be forced to do the same too!
Those security chiefs who swore Zimbabwe will never be ruled by no one else other than Zanu PF got their wish and a hell lot more beside – poverty and despair is staring them in the eye!