Succession issue not a prerogative of Zanu PF only: War vets 

Source: Succession issue not a prerogative of Zanu PF only: War vets -Newsday Zimbabwe

THE Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association faction led by Andrease Mathibela has called for an open discussion on the succession issue, saying the conversations should guarantee a leader who should shun corruption.

Mathibela made the remarks at a Press conference held in Bulawayo yesterday.

He said whoever is going to takeover the country’s leadership should be able to take the nation out of the current economic situation.

“The succession must come into effect and should not be the prerogative of Zanu PF. It should guarantee a leader who should be a unifier, shun corruption, who should take the country out of this current economic situation,” Mathibela said.

“The absence of a clear succession plan and total disrespect of seniority in the party is creating an environment that will eventually breed chaos.

“This is not what we were taught as cadres when we were in the bush looking forward to a great new Zimbabwe.”

He said the cumulative effects of decades of unmitigated syphoning of State resources through scam tenders, questionable judicial judgments and other malpractices as well as the rise of a quasi-political criminal mafios whose crimes are never brought to book, only for these same criminals resurrecting in the positions of authority and superintending over the very same laws they contravened has made the independence the war veterans fought for a farfetched dream.

Mathibela castigated the recently held war veterans’ congress saying it was done by a puppet executive against a court order with an intention of electing people who were going to endorse the ED2030 mantra, indicating that the leadership is focusing on being gatekeepers to keep the war veterans out of the gravy train.

“The sham so-called war veterans congress must be disregarded with the contempt it deserves as it failed to represent the majority of war veterans and falls short of what is expected of war veterans,” he said.

The factional leader castigated the new land policy which talks about the sale of the land, questioning who would benefit from it.

“About 80% of the war veterans do not own land. We did not go to war so that we will sell land. Whose benefit is it and who are selling it? It’s like getting on a bus with a board written Mutare, only to realise once inside that it is headed for Masvingo,” Mathibela said.

He said their organisation had stayed away from politicking and grandstanding and said they view themselves as the vanguard of the ideals they went to war for.