No one is bigger than Zanu-PF

via No one is bigger than Zanu-PF | The Herald 27 November 2014 by Mukachana Hanyani

THE Zanu-PF Central Committee elections which resulted in some bigwigs falling by the wayside show that no one is bigger than the ruling party. Some of the bigwigs faced the same fate of exiting their Central Committee positions through votes of no confidence.

The events unfolding in the ruling party have become the talk of the town.

Almost every media house in the country is reporting what is taking place in Zanu-PF. While some prophets of doom are now pointing to the alleged demise of Zanu-PF, genuine supporters of this revolutionary party welcome the move since it is intended to prune those not fit to remain in the leadership echelons.

It is a fact that what has transpired and still taking place in the ruling party has taken the country by surprise as people have started witnessing the downfall of the once powerful Zanu-PF senior members who thought that they were bigger than the party.

Before their downfall, some even bragged to their supporters that they were as strong as concrete when it comes to cementing their stay in the Central Committee. They were irreplaceable, so they thought.

Their sudden fall also shocked those who believed that the Zanu-PF Central Committee has some permanent members. Some people should not be surprised with what is happening in the ruling party.

The events are common in any organisation under reform.

People should welcome the new developments and then treat them as a lesson which could be used in future for the development of any organisation.

Such developments are also good as they rid the party of people who always wanted to monopolise Zanu-PF affairs and treating it as their personal possession. The recent removal of the provincial chairpersons around the country through votes of no confidence unites the party and makes it stronger.

Those who were removed were found guilty of fanning factionalism instead of uniting the Zanu-PF members. People should learn to appreciate that no individual is bigger than the organisation.

Individuals like Dr Simba Makoni, the Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) leader, Job Sikhala the then MDC99 leader, Dr Dumiso Dabengwa and others who thought they could do it alone can testify that not all that glitters is gold.

It is not easy to leave any party for personal aggrandisement.

These people tried their luck outside their main political parties, which made them what they are.

As I write this article they are all no longer strong and respected as they used to be. They have become the laughing stock of the political scene and even by the international community.

People still remember how Dr Simba Makoni enjoyed respect from everyone.

At one point rumour had it that he would take over from President Mugabe.

But with those who misled him into believing than he was bigger than Zanu-PF, Dr Makoni opted out and formed his MKD which has now been condemned into the back pages of political historical books with nothing to show.

Today, Dr Makoni has lost respect among those who thought that his purported intellectual power would be used amicably in saving the country diligently. He is ruing the day he thought of leaving Zanu-PF in favour of his MKD, as he is now, no longer near the personality of Dr Makoni who once headed the whole of the Sadc region as executive secretary.

Dr Makoni should contemplate going back to Zanu-PF. He may even find it difficult to do so, as no one from the revolutionary party has courted him, showing that he is replaceable after all.

It was the same story with Dr Dumiso Dabengwa. The former ZIPRA intelligence Supremo thought that reviving Zapu legacy through dumping Zanu-PF would bring food on his table. Life has not been the same for him. He can only rejoin Zanu-PF in order to regain his lost status.

Dr Dabengwa could have been elevated to be the Vice President of Zimbabwe at the oncoming Congress, due to his seniority in the original ZAPU political matrix.

He is now in a dilemma. He seems blank on what to do so that he remains relevant in the political sphere of the country.

We cannot talk of Job Sikhala, who has seen it all, that surviving outside the main organisation is untenable as he has already rejoined his former leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, although the move is not the best anyway.