via Mujuru political return good for the country – NewsDay Zimbabwe September 9, 2015
Former Vice-President Joice Mujuru on Monday all but announced her re-entry into national politics, which she will find a markedly different terrain from when she left it.
It is beyond doubt that when she finally, and expectedly, joins the political fray, Mujuru will have a groundswell of sympathisers who feel she was hard-done by Zanu PF and this will provide the basis of her support.
While there is euphoria at Mujuru’s policy statement and re-entry into politics, it is important to take a step back and look at the role she played in the misrule and misgovernance of the country in the 35 years that she was in government.
Mujuru has apologised for her role in the misgovernance of the country, but the question remains if she would have done so had she not been fired from the government and the Zanu PF party.
We do not think her apology means she has a blank slate and all is forgiven, but it means Zimbabweans should scrutinise her past and compare it with what she promises for the future.
Nevertheless, we welcome Mujuru back into public life and advise her that the game has changed and she should be prepared for a strong backlash from her former colleagues in Zanu PF, who will view this as a betrayal and vindication for the manner they expelled her from the ruling party.
Zanu PF has been known to be brutal when dealing with people they deem to be deserters and Mujuru now fits that description and she should expect the worst from her erstwhile colleagues.
As a Zanu PF politician once said, being a member of the party is like riding on the back of a hyena; if you disembark it will turn around and bite you. The former Vice-President must be prepared for the hyena’s fury, but we commend her for her bravery, as we doubt this was an easy decision.
More importantly, however, is that Mujuru’s re-entry into politics strengthens the opposition and, by extension, the country’s democratic forces.
We have noted with dismay as the opposition has been consumed by infighting and splits, while affording Zanu PF carte blanche to run the country. A strong opposition is important for the country as it keeps the ruling party in check and on its toes.
The grim reality was that Zimbabwe was slowly gravitating towards a one-party State and Mujuru’s re-entry into politics, not that it is a panacea for the country’s problems, serves as an indicator that Zanu PF does not have a blank cheque and it should not take the 2018 elections for granted.
Our advice to Mujuru, and any other opposition party, is that we will hold you to a higher standard and treat your planned policies with doses of scepticism, as what the majority want is something different from Zanu PF.
We have had Zanu PF for 35 years, Zimbabweans know what they are about, and from the opposition the people want something different to take the country forward.
COMMENTS
Simply put. NO ITS NOT GOOD. Old guard, old ideas for a new feeding trough. Get rid of them all. New blood needed. Someone who knows how to run a country for the good of the people. These morons only know what is best for them.
Come on really what’s good about Joyce making a political return.
This is the woman who was trusted and fail in all departments.
Joyce is just a lost women and this just proves that yes indeed she did do or try to do things that are said she did.
This propaganda women has no idea what loyalty is a dishonest women and money hungry ladybird.
Total waste of time to even be talking about this product call Joyce.
Come on really what’s good about Joyce making a political return.
This is the woman who was trusted and fail in all departments.
Joyce is just a lost women and this just proves that yes indeed she did do or try to do things that are said she did.
This propaganda women has no idea what loyalty is a dishonest women and money hungry ladybird.
Total waste of time to even be talking about this product called Joyce.
There is no problem Guti. I’m sure we have more than 40 registered political parties in Zim. If you are the new blood required then form yours. It is your constitutional right by the way. What the author is saying here is that the political space becomes healthier with the impending launch of this new political party.
Well said Maki.Especially when these apparently “repentant” ones come into the fray bringing with them some of the Zanu institutional memory and inside knowledge of the rigging tricks and how to counter a lot of the projections by Zanu as the only representative of the povo because they fought in the bush war that ended over 35 years ago that people keep being not only reminded about but threatened that Zimbabwe will go back to that war
Yes imagine a white political party again.Great.
i think we need to flash back our memories and see who Mujuru was in Zanu Pf, and what has she done better for almost a decade as Mugabes deputy.Zimbabweans think outside the box there is nothing healthier about the return of Mujuru on the political grounds.This is just a waste of time
CAN’T any body see this is Mugabes succession plan going into action and everybody is falling for it hook line and sinker If (spill blood )or what ever her name is gets to be PRESIDENT we can all forget about the accountability of the previous government (THE LAND THE ATROCITIES THE MURDERS THE CORRUPTION EVERYTHING WILL BE FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN)and continue that is exactly what our present leader WANTS.Don’t be fooled SHE is a carbon copy and is trying to say the right things now( WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES YOU GULLIBLE FOOLS )
Mu Zimbabwean you need to understand that Mujuru is now playing a different ball game with different rules altogether. In BUILD we can now truely see what she has been thinking about all along interms of stearing Zimbabwe if she had been given chance. Mujuru has a vision she is the first high ranked official to criticise ZIMASSET. She argued that the Blue print would need money as much as 10 time bigger than the economy of Zimbabwe for it to be successful and some of the clusters would need more than 30years to be realised. The following extract from the herald clarify my point and can vindicate her personality before and after. She also has a listening ear and approachable as a leader as she would also listen to the concerns of the youth something which is missing.
“Mujuru said the economic blueprint did not adequately address issues around information technology as well as banking and the financial services sector.
She said she had been approached by youths who had told her that while they were generally happy that ZimAsset covered good ground in terms of addressing important economic issues, the blueprint had inadequacies in important sectors.
“Defensively, I retorted: ‘Which two areas? ZimAsset has gone through various stages of the party and government, and was debated thoroughly. Now you tell us it is inadequate’,” Mujuru said.
Mujuru said she had thoughtfully considered the youths’ assertions. She said there was need to take on board such feedback to make the blueprint “elastic enough to accommodate the key enablers”.
“That conversation gave me hope,” she said “It suggested a generation that is actively engaging and busy unpacking a national policy and ready to challenge it.”
Those who want to sound as politically apt will welcome Mujuru into the political fray. But some of us will tell you this is the other side of the coin inseperable from the whole. Zanu in a new looting robe.