Will Zanu’s PF’s collapse be good for Zim?

via Will Zanu’s PF’s collapse be good for Zim? NewZimbabwe 17/01/2016

HAVING presided over the affairs of the country for over three decades, Zanu PF has often been accused of economic mismanagement, corruption, rights violations and poll theft, among a slew of offences.

Since late 2014, when the party’s succession tensions ruptured, President Robert Mugabe has become increasingly suspicious of his comrades and has been dumping them like litter through summary expulsions.

The fall-out has climaxed into mysterious bullet parcels sent to party rivals and continuous office break-ins suffered by Vice President and presidential aspirant Emmerson Mnangagwa, the alleged godfather of factionalism within the party.

Likewise, the unfolding implosion in the party has been met with batted breath by political opponents and those too keen on seeing the end of an era that has spawned massive suffering.

Even more encouraging is that the party facing imminent demise is a dreaded monster, tentacles spread right into the military, a factor that has made it difficult to dislodge over the years.

Now, the question is:  is the unfolding Zanu PF implosion good for the country?

“All right thinking Zimbabweans should celebrate the collapse of Zanu PF,” says MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu.

“The implosion of Zanu PF is the happiest thing that can happen to Zimbabwe at this juncture.”

Gutu feels a Zanu PF implosion will allow the country a fresh start.

But its current turbulence, as President Mugabe revealed in December, has brought in the country’s military, a development that many feel is unwelcome for a conflict weary country.

It is feared any emerging successor outside the security chiefs’ preferences can face army rejection, a scenario that can lead to military rule or turn the entire nation into war.

Harare-based political analyst Kudzayi Kwangwari agrees ugly succession wars waged by Zanu PF hawks could trigger the end of both the party and its dominance but is quick to caution this “is likely to lead to serious political and economic instability”.

“The most dangerous ingredient is that the security is party to these developments,” Kwangwari says.

Gutu feels instability instigated from the barracks was a remote possibility as the rank and file of the country’s security services longed for change.

“The security sector is largely a very professional outfit that can easily be realigned with a new and democratic Zimbabwe,” he says.

“There are only a few die-hard, regime apologists who of course, will have to be retired.”

Opposition PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume feels Zimbabweans must be prepared to take the collateral damage that comes with an imminent Zanu PF demise for as long as the “gift” is delivered.

“The implosion of Zanu PF would be a gift to Zimbabwe,” Mafume says, adding, “In its united format, it has caused so much suffering for Zimbabweans. It has to be demolished like the tower of Babel. It is a tower of confusion, vanity and it has destroyed people’s lives.”

Media expert Tawanda Majoni says Zimbabweans were already feeling the effects of the unfolding Zanu PF implosion as shown by party politicians’ readiness to park government tasks while fighting for their political survival.

“Worse still,” he continues, “the seizure with power politics has severely affected national governance as the party leadership neglected the economy and citizens’ livelihood needs.

“It is most likely that within one and half years, the ruling party would have fatally ruined itself and that might herald a new political era if Zimbabweans can find a sustainable and viable alternative.”

It is also strongly felt, elsewhere, that a burning Zanu PF increases paranoia among politicians in government who have tended to invest scarce government resources in security.

In the 2016 national budget, government dedicated the bulk of the country’s financial revenue towards the ministries of home affairs, the parent ministry for the police; defence and state security.

Government has also announced intentions to increase the number of police officers from the current 50,000 to 75,000.