via Will Mnangagwa redeem himself? – NewsDay Zimbabwe December 18, 2014
It was Mark Twain who once said: “I have seen so many troubles in my life, most of which never happened.”
The last three months have been quite tiring with continuous twists and turns as all speculated what would happen at the Zanu PF congress and which faction would win.
Some among us saw so many troubles which never happened. Now that Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has prevailed as I preferred, the question is whether he will now be given or take the space to stamp his authority.
One thing I have noticed is how our media continues to play a very decisive yet suspect role in creating expectations of what will happen next.
We have become a nation obsessed with political intrigue and gossip and this is typical in a society that is trying to fill the vacuum of lack of accurate information on potential political developments and what will happen next.
That is President Robert Mugabe for you, he likes to keep everyone guessing and thus create the illusion that he remains in control.
Now that we have substantive Vice-Presidents, our attention will no doubt be redirected to Joice Mujuru and her alleged allies and their likely reaction to what has really been a political massacre.
Because of that, we are not paying attention to the positives that Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko could bring to the table despite the past.
I must confess that I really did not know much about VP Mphoko until now so in my analysis this week, I will concentrate on VP Mnangagwa and what he could bring to the table.
One good thing is that we now have somebody who can take responsibility for developments within the Presidium, as most like to call it. Up to now, there has been an undeniable leadership crisis and some of us have written off Mugabe as someone who can no longer bring something new to the table and I think we are correct in that. We are now dealing with the post-Mugabe scenario.
It is now clear that the First Lady, Grace Mugabe, will certainly have more political influence going forward given what she has achieved in such a short space of time. I suspect that she will certainly get some post in government soon.
I also suspect that Mnangagwa will have to pay back the First Family with some assurance that if anything were to happen to Mugabe, he would certainly protect Grace’s interests. Whether she becomes VP in the future or not will much depend on Mugabe’s lifespan.
I think that Mnangagwa now has a bigger responsibility to Zimbabweans in general. In all conversations that I have had about him, Zimbabweans are concerned about his past and believe that he remains a calculating and cruel man who has repeatedly saved the day for Mugabe to ensure that he stays in power by any means necessary.
Concerns of his role in Gukurahundi and his clandestine work in the 2008 and 2013 disputed elections will not go away.
Well, that is the past and if we continue to focus on that we might miss an opportunity to encourage and support him to be a different man.
I think he certainly can bring back discipline and order within government and the public sector if allowed the space by Mugabe. He certainly has the gravitas and the personal courage to face tough issues head-on. As a country we have missed that. I also think that deep down he knows what’s wrong with Zimbabwe and what has to be done to bring things back on track; when and how he will do the necessary remains to be seen.
I would encourage him to look beyond Zanu PF and for a change, put Zimbabwe first. His statement that he will keep in line with the ideas of Zanu PF that he has learnt over the last 52 years is a preposterous proposition.
We can no longer afford to maintain an exclusive and confrontational political environment that is dominated by a predator Zanu PF cabal. We cannot continue with the racism that we have seen under Mugabe. We cannot afford to promote politics of fear, violence, intimidation and stealth. That is the past and I would urge VP Mnangagwa to expunge this from his mind. It will not create the Zimbabwe we want.
Our country has all it needs to become one of the best investment destinations in Africa. We have the resources, the talent and people who want to work to create the future they desire. The only thing that draws us back are the political divisions, corruption, greed and the lack of national consensus and vision of where we want to be as a country.
In my opinion, it will not be difficult at all to turn around our economy if we are united and serious about it. Our business sector knows very well what must be done. Our public sector has slackened because of lack of leadership and Mnangagwa can surely put that to an end.
Of course, we have to deal with the issues of human rights and freedom, but I always say that it is up to us Zimbabweans to demand better life conditions and be active in creating the future we want than abdicating that responsibility to politicians. The Constitution is on our side.
Of course, we have been wronged by Zanu PF and much national healing must still take place. However, this will take time and a concerted effort from all of us to build a new Zimbabwe. It will also take some humbleness and forgiveness from all sides. We must carpe diem.
Nobody is going to come and create better conditions of life for us.
Our VPs, from whom we are expecting much, must take the first step to show us that indeed we can go onto a new path and create a better narrative for our future.
It’s time for new politics.
COMMENTS
Please note that both these VPs were involved in Gukurahundi unless they want to tell us otherwise. I think that was the basis of their choice.
Too late for EDM to redeem himself – the guy is a proven killer with no mercy. Just look back at what he engineered in 2008.
Question is , will the journalists redeem themselves.
Writing rubbish and lies for so long that they even begin to believe their lies as well.
Ted Sutton Price was behind Matabeleland anyone who had the IQ to research is aware of that but let me attempt and it is hard to educate this journalist.
Ted Sutton Price in Pretoria organoised the massacre when working for physchological warfare.
He boasted that he kept the agents that destabilized thec war vets during UDI on the payroll.
He reasoned that Mugabe would not trust the integrated army and if they stirred up violence in Matebleleland the fifth brigade would be sent in and there would be a slaughter.
Some of the agents were Crispin Madondo, Herbert Janmge etc.
They of couse are brought drinks in the beer halls by the families of they organized to kill.
Ted was so proud he said MAugab e had turned to communism and so the west would turn a blind eye and they did and the only way Mugabe could get out of it was to revert to the west.
A highly successful operation supported by journalists who still support the violence today by blaming the wrong party instead of the real culprits.
Journalist who write rubbish from their imagination should be shot as terrorists.
Seems like the crocdile is in the driver’s seat. What do you expect. The clandestine removal of mai Mujuru and the desire of Grace to maintain and keep what she has. What is Grace to be afraid of if they have been fair and honest people all these years. In fact this journalist was promoting favouratism from the crocodile. How can we now trust a murderous individual to be a fair leader at this time. He has to extend his hand first.
I did not write the post about the crocodile – a load of rubbish possible sour grapes by the journalist rather than apologize.
The only murderous individual is the one trying to protect the real murders making themselves culpable.
So those covering for the murderers are in law murderers, so refer to yourselves.
As a person who went to Pretoria to interview Sutton – Price I think its sad that the Ndebele people do not take issue with journalists covering up the real murderers for persomal income.
Its shameful.
Like the\ general public all were conned in Zimbabwe leading to apology from the President who was unaware of the terrorist scam.
He might be the right person for Zanu but he is the wrong chap to lead Zimbabbwe. Mugabe is smart. After knocking Mujuru off her perch he knows Mnangagwa wouldn’t dare to even cough. Besides, he carries a festering wound and guilt from the events of Tsholotsho in 2004. Mugabe has miserably failed to stem corruption since independence. The reason is very simple. He is very corrupt. So are they all! Of hand I can’t give the exact amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars the new VP owes over years to ZESA the electricity utility. Some owe over a million US dollars in a nation like Zimbabwe. I won’t delve into water and other utilities. Is Mnangagwa capable of launching a land audit? Can he stand up in Parliament and question how the Gushungos’, Mugabe’, got their loot? I don’t think so. The hyenas are now looking after the goats. The finance minister, Chinamasa, during the past year has seemed to be the only talking sense on the economy. He has been saying, we are broke, we need to expand our network of economic friends but sadly never mentioned corruption. Over the years Mugabe has played a blinder on sanctions and we have all fallen into the trap and it has ‘never been Zanu’s fault’. It is a fact that if it were not for Zanu’s corruption and rigging the VP would have retired a long time ago because the voters kept rejecting him. He has lost in many constituencies including his own home area and, Mnangagwa has been a total failure. Mnangagwa is not a crocodile but a log and from a saying from, ironically, the DRC, no matter how long a log stays in the water it will never become a crocodile. Indeed we are lions led by donkeys or is it arses?
The coffee is piping hot. Very hot but can we wake up and smell it? Some of us, nope! Talk of something which is piped, water. In its simplest form, the technology required is a water pump and a few chemicals and hey presto fresh water pours down your tap. Drive round the country and you discover all the river dams are over flowing yet the major cities are dry and starved of water for weeks and months. What’s wrong with us? Since independence there has only one vice president who left office alive, Joice Mujuru. Sacked and humiliated. The other four, Nkomo, Banana, Msika and Nkomo all died in office. Sadly, all four spent the last 2 years of their lives in a vegetative state and on a payroll. Wake up and smell the coffee because the whole Zanu system and project stinks to high heaven. To make ‘progress’ Zimbabwe needs a new broom even if it means you, the reader, as leader. Yes you can do better! They have failed miserably including the two members of the cartel. Were they in a coma when things were falling apart? Harare hospital, Mpilo hospital, to name a few, are now unrecognisable yet whenever our leaders have an itch on the backside they fly to South Africa or South East Asia for treatment. Here is a teaser, Mugabe himself won’t die in a Zimbabwe hospital or any of his presidential palaces, unless he is hit by lightning. Even then they will still fly the corpse abroad just to make sure and take the pulse. The two nominated stooges have been passengers in a coach for 34 years and have been fast asleep. And the writer and supporters insist we ‘should give them a chance’. Give us a break, and I don’t mean literally because in our country that can easily be arranged. There are dark forces out there!
Simon M Tozvireva.
sometime vince you never fail to amaze me. you mean you preferred munangangwa to take over for real. munangagwa masterminded the victory of mugabe in 2008 using the dirtiest tricks in the book. and you also supported grace in your last article saying lets give her a chance. you are my buddy but you seem to veer off a tangent as regards to people you may want to appease. what worries me most is…for what. I wont support evil people, period.
Indeed you are a blackhammer. Well written and presented.