Is there method in the madness?

via Is there method in the madness? – The Zimbabwean 12 June 2015

As we watched a Nigerian satire journalist pummel President Robert Mugabe with some home truths, it has become a season of political buffoonery at home once more, but that’s nothing new.

I think Zanu (PF) fears Joice Mujuru’s come-back – given their continued attack on her. As the party rots from the head like a fish I would advise Jonathan Moyo to focus on getting his party sorted out, rather than continually attacking those outside it. He has become rather uninspiring with his predictable diatribe.

Mujuru et al have every right to establish whatever political platform they wish. There is no law against that. I predict that they will certainly give Zanu (PF) and Nikuv a run for their money if they decide to contest the next elections. Better still if they partner with other substantive opposition parties, we will be in for a political thriller indeed.

History has shown that when the beginning of the end is nigh, ruling parties will use any means necessary to discredit would be contenders but I think Zimbabweans have become politically astute, especially given the empty promises of Zanu (PF) for the last 35 years. It’s time to go.

Some of my readers will remember that before VP Mnangagwa was appointed I was one of his main supporters as the next President of Zimbabwe compared to Joice Mujuru. I conjectured that he would have more gravitas and would be more alert of what needs to be done post Mugabe era. I am afraid to say that each time he opens his mouth my confidence and enthusiasm on that assertion continue to diminish.

Trained to kill

We cannot have a VP who boasts of being trained to kill, or of being a terrorist and saying that they will be no electoral reforms. I also think that it is very naïve to boast of having been next to Mugabe from the beginning because this man and those around him have been a complete failure. We really don’t care about the past and we want our leaders to focus more on the future because that is where we are all going.

And then we have the vendors’ fiasco where the minister of local government threatened to call in the army to deal with what is really a civil matter. Zanu (PF) must now deal with the social and economic problems which they have created and calling in the army indicates that they have run out of solutions and must revert to their old ways-use of violence and force to get their way. We must reject that.

The vendors are a symptom of an economic system that has collapsed. We cannot call that the new economy. The only sustainable solution is to create jobs. In the meantime, yes we must clean up our city centres but we must come up with inclusive solutions as opposed to prescriptive solutions that do not take into account the needs of the people.

Political confusion

In my opinion, the political confusion and continued infighting in the party are not an accident. Any system that is not founded on sound principles will destroy itself from within as it fails to continually regenerate itself. The flawed thinking and value systems upon which Zanu (PF) is based cannot prevail and last forever.

Degeneration has caught up with it just as happened to dinosaurs. We have seen how this government continually wants to deal with symptoms to what is a problem of illegitimacy, irrelevance, incompetence and degeneration. We will all be better off without it.

Then we have the MDC- Renewal Team sex scandal. I just don’t know what happened there but that is why I hate political parties. There is too much intrigue and contestation for position that people will do anything to get power. If it is indeed true that Elton Mangoma was set up then I do not think those that did it deserve to lead us at all.

We cannot have unethical leadership claiming that they can lead us to a better future. We have learnt from the past and as voters we must now judge people who aspire to be leaders and who they are and not what they say. If we do not do that, we shall end up with the same problems that we now have.

Our problems are really self-inflicted and their source is lack of leadership. There certainly is no method in the madness. It is rather desperation to stop the tide of unstoppable change and no government in the world has survived that. Zimbabwe is poised for a fantastic rebound, get ready. – Vince Musewe is an economist and author based in Harare. You can contact him at vtmusewe@gmail.com

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