adminNduduzo Tshuma
AS the Zanu-PF 16th Annual Conference kicked off yesterday, one undeniable fact is that this year the party, more than any other, has hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons.
So fierce have been the internal fights in the ruling party that many feel that unless efforts are made to stop the internal fighting, Zanu-PF will be its own worst enemy ahead of the 2018 elections.
Even students of linguistics and lexicographers got a treat from Zanu-PF cadres as they publicly traded insults with words, some of them never heard before and some found in the diction of the most sophisticated works of literature.
The party has been allowed to bleed the greater part of this year with festering wounds threatening a permanent dismemberment or mutilation of the party that has ruled this nation since Independence from the white settler regime in 1980.
It is hoped that as the Zanu-PF faithfuls from various parts of the country started trickling into the historic city of Masvingo for the annual pilgrimage, everyone coming for the conference shares the agenda of healing the wounds that the party has suffered for most of the year.
With the opposition parties further disintegrating due to donor fatigue and internal fights, all is not doom and gloom for Zanu-PF as they still have the time to reorganise and maintain their status as the dominant political party since independence.
Interestingly, a week ago, the Zimbabwe National Army held a lecture series on the Identification, Protection and Promotion of National Interest, a very critical subject which should serve as a reminder even to the politicians that all activity should serve national interest.
This is therefore a gentle reminder to Zanu-PF that for them to retain power, they must unite and bridge the divisions among members especially at the top where the fights are concentrated.
Not far from now, the country will be readying for the 2018 elections and as per culture of that mad season, the foreign purses will start opening, disbursing funds to sponsor opposition parties who represent western interests.
The isolation that the country has suffered from western countries as a result of the land reform exercise meant to correct colonial wrongs is still affecting the nation and the West and its allies are still making efforts towards destabilising this great nation.
It is important therefore for the Zanu-PF cadres to remember that the Western fight is still alive as they are not only fighting the possibility of a domino effect on the land reform but all the pro-people policies that Zimbabwe has implemented since Independence.
It is not a secret that Zimbabwe has set an example for the whole of Africa and the Third world on the need to protect the interests of its people, an example despised by the Western countries as it stands in the way of their neo colonialist agenda.
Perhaps it is important to remind them of Hans Morgenthau’s words on the national interest which read, “Despite the profound changes which have occurred in the world, it still remains true, as it has always been true, that a nation confronted with the hostile aspirations of other nations has one prime obligation to take care of its own interests.
“The moral justification for this prime duty of all nations, for it is not only a moral right but also a moral obligation arising from the fact that if this particular nation does not take care of its interests, nobody else will. Hence the counsel that we ought to subordinate our national interest to some other standard is unworthy of a nation great in human civilisation.
“A nation which would take that counsel and act consistently on it would commit suicide and become the prey and victim of other nations which know how to take care of their interests.”
Memories of the 2008 “Bhora Musango” era must still be fresh in the minds of all party cadres where Zanu-PF almost suffered a humiliating loss to the Mr Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC-T. Just like then, the party was rocked by divisions as it is now if not worse.
Power does not stay in the hands of a divided party and the 2008 incident should stand as testimony to all Zanu-PF cadres who love both party and country. It should be emphasised again that the internal fights are not only bad for the party but nation as well.
All energies should be channelled towards serving and strengthening Zanu-PF and championing the aspirations of the people so that the ruling party remains a party of choice among Zimbabweans and that the Government can implement its policies with a unity of purpose and not fragmentation.
The conference should also come up with serious strategies on bringing together all war veterans under one banner of Zanu-PF. Opportunists have been seen trying to cash on the internal fights within Zanu-PF to lure war veterans to their political parties in a desperate bid to create a false liberation outlook.
Zanu-PF remains the only liberation party in the country and this should show by organising veterans of the struggle under one tent and united in support of the ruling Zanu-PF party.
While disagreements are common among human beings, there should always be a strong principle that binds them together. The Chitepo School of Ideology after the conference, should be utilised in refreshing the minds of those who have forgotten what Zanu-PF is all about.
The choice of Masvingo, the cradle of the country’s civilisation, couldn’t have been a better place to hold the conference at a time when the party is facing internal fights. This is going back to the centre, to reboot and reorganise and rejuvenate.
It is expected that Zanu-PF at the end of the conference on Saturday will abandon all the negative energy within the party and work as a unit again in preparation for the 2018 elections and win resoundingly. “Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.”
Online Reporter