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A Discussion Paper by Cont Mhlanga I have always enjoyed to listen to Cde Mugabe speak! He allows you to hear
more than three issues in a single sentence then lets you with various
options of what you choose hear and to run home with. I enjoy that! In his closing speech at the 10th Zanu PF Conference held in Bindura last
week he gave us very interesting Pointers to where we are headed to as a
nation and why so. I will pick those that caught my attention most and run home with them. Party Slogan He maintained in opening his speech with the use of the party slogan ‘Pasi
ne MDC…Pasi na Tswangirai…Down with MDC ….Down with Tswangirai with so
much vigor and conviction. • It is clear that the dream of a fair negotiated and distributed
government of national unity between the two main parties is not part of
the Zanu PF vocabulary as yet. It is just a time buying game for him, his
party and its international friends. The nation is headed for yet another
wave of political motivated violence in not so long a distant future. Freedom to Campaign He says to the delegates, that he and his top party brass will visit every
province to see for themselves that the party is kicking and vibrant
because they do not want to be embarrassed like what happened in the March
election. • This is an admition on his part that they lost the March election and
were embarrassed by that because their approach of managing the party at
that time was not …hands on… This means we will see as a nation an
increased clamp down on the freedom of the opposition party members in the
provinces and the districts to go about promoting their party and building
their party structures. NGOs and human rights activists will be targeted
as well. Harassment and or even elimination of opposition party activists
at local level, shutting down their party structures may be the order of
the day sooner than latter. Rejecting Free and Fair Election Results In his speech he says that after the embarrassing defeat in the March
election a group of war veterans 10 or so of them came to him and told him
that they will not accept the election results because the country that
they fought for cannot be taken away from them through just a mere ballot
box… • It is amazing that he did not remind these war veterans that up and
above of fighting for the land and local resources they also fought for a
ONE MAN ONE VOTE ballot box election process. He says he how ever agreed
with them and advised them to go and work out a … June run off program of
action… It is clear that as a nation we have created and allowed a
development of a group of super heroes who will never accept any election
results because they fought a war to be were they are today and only a war
or assassinations should remove them. The nation will soon be fast
approaching this era as demanded by these supper heroes. Elections He instructed delegates to go back united and fired up so that when an
election comes this time they must win! Through out his address it was
clear that he is convinced that the current political impasse will only be
put to rest by running another election. • Here comes trouble for ordinary Zimbabweans! The massage is clear. They
did not win last time because they were divided. They have held on to
power by all means possible till now as they get ready for another round
of election when ever they feel ready. This time they have to work on
uniting their party to win the election. This means the nation should belt
up for increased economic knock out corruption rounds and vote buying
sprees from senior party officials as extra ordinary economic solutions
for extra ordinary situations are going to be the order of the day and
will be used to entice people to the party and to remain loyal and united
till the next election, Zanu PF knows when and how that election will be
run. It will be suffer continue for non Zanu PF members of the public! Land He told delegates that he personally does not agree with how the Safari
land sector has been redistributed to his party individuals and how it is
operated for private gain….and that those doing it should do it knowing
that he does not agree with that model. • For the second time in his speech I hear a defeated voice in Cde Mugabe.
First concerning the result of the March election where he was forced by
the group of war veterans to reject the result of a free and fair election
and now on the land question in the safari sector were thick corruption is
tacking place and unjust land offers were given for self enrichment ahead
of the local communities! ‘Do it but know that I do not approve of it” he
said. Why allow his party members to steal from communities? Is his party
not the party of the people as he always says? Or why allow them to do
exactly what the White safari operators from whom he grabbed the land to
give to these now Black safari operators were doing? Is he then admitting
that the way he has allowed his party and government handle the land issue
has just become a racial reaction and tribal benefit scheme since most of
the land for safari operations in Matebeleland North was given to Shona
non resident civil servants of the province ahead of locals that his party
has continued to under develop since independence? The way the land
question has been handled thus far is far from being complete and its
drama will actually begin when his government goes out of power even if
that takes the next 50 years. The writing is clear on the wall for all to
read. It is for this reason that he emphasized with his trade mark
clinched fist that there is no going back on the land and that delegates
should go back and farm relaxed (as if they ever farm). He is aware it has
not been done properly especially in Matebeleland and it will sure back
fire sooner or later. Hokoyo To Other Sectors He told the delegates that the only sector that they now control is the
agricultural sector. They do not yet control the mining sector, banking
sector and the manufacturing sector. He promised that these too must be
taken away so that they have control over them… • Need I explain what the nation should expect! All I can say though is that because we now operate on a Rand currency
that has even gone down to buying tomatoes on the road side and at the
village shops were people are now even refusing to take Zimbabwe dollars,
all goods will soon be imported from South Africa one way or the other.
This will power the growth of the South African manufacturing industry and
shut down our manufacturing sector in the shortest way possible. Local manufactures will find the going tough to compete with goods coming
from South Africa mainly because of consumer choices who are getting very
entertaining media and advertising from the South African media and are
being conditioned to certain brands and packaging through this media,
while our media remains politically controlled with annoying propaganda,
shallow programming and advertising. Prize will be the second factor. With the amount of blundering Cde Mugabe and Zanu PF are doing in their
Casino economy they will realize late to the fact that they will have no
manufacturing sector to take over as it will be South African based
companies just expanding operations to Zimbabwe, a disaster that will come
more to light when his government goes and more foreign money starts to
flow back to the country. The competition will be too hot to handle and
the taken companies and farms may reverse hands may be not back to the
Whites were they have been taken away from but to Black South African
hands, corporations and multinational companies that are currently being
advantaged and strengthened from South Africa by the Zimbabwean political
crisis. The longer this political crisis goes on the more advantage they
get to come in and reverse what Cde Mugabe thinks he has achieved in his
life time rule when he goes. Remember no one lives for ever and that is
the only reason why we have history existing as a subject? As I said that I like to listen to Cde Mugabe speak! He gives you so much
in every sentence and all you have to do is run home with what you want to
hear. This is what I heard from his closing address of the 10th Zanu PF
Conference in Bindura on Saturday evening. Silubhekise ngaphi? Where to Zimbabwe? Cont Mhlanga
Sunday, December 21, 2008
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