adminShame Isaki
AFTER having endured 15 or so many years of political upheaval, the last six of which were so humiliating to His Excellency, President Mugabe, following the placing of Zimbabwe on the SADC agenda in 2007 at an ordinary SADC Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, President Mugabe’s assumption of duty as SADC chairman for the next three years could not have come at a better time.
While SADC through its mediators like Cde Thabo Mbeki, the former South African President and Cde Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s current President, must be applauded for successfully carrying out their mandate in the Zimbabwe political crisis it was not a very pleasant experience for President Mugabe, given his status to be forced into negotiations with political novices and people he knew had contributed to the economic meltdown of the country and the general suffering of its citizenry.
That is a very difficult position to be not forgetting the humiliation of enduring derogatory statements from foul-mouthed oppositional elements and the over-excited representative of Cde Zuma of South Africa.
In all fairness, President Mugabe, given his status, is supposed to be on the fore-front of ensuring regional and international peace, which thing he has been doing so well over the years but here he was being mediated over by people and with people he was supposed to be mentoring or advising (I am not taking anything away from the mediators).
It was surely not supposed to be like that but such is life and I appreciate President Mugabe’s humility to come down to that level for the good of the country and eventually that period came to a screeching halt on the 31st of July 2013 when Zanu-PF emerged victorious over all opposition. That was a period to celebrate and the celebrations are ongoing in some quarters.
The beginning of this year also saw the first family celebrating the wedding of their one and only daughter Bona, to Simba Chikore.
A few months down the line, on August 17, 2014, President Mugabe, has assumed the chairmanship of this important regional grouping, SADC. Surely it has been a good one year for the President and I can’t help but wish him more success and joy in his remaining years.
The man is enjoying a position befitting his status. While the President, Zanu-PF and the nation is basking in the glory of assuming the SADC chair and while surely there will be economic, diplomatic and political gains to be derived from this mandate, I believe it is SADC member states which are going to benefit more from having President Mugabe as their leader for the next three years.
Being the only one of his generation still in power at the moment, the younger generation of leaders would be wiser to seek to learn as much as they can from the man and get orientation or reorientation on Pan-Africanism which thing has been greatly compromised in the current generation of politicians and leaders. Hate him or like him, President Mugabe is a wise statesman. He is a shrewd politician and I believe in this regard no one else is better placed to testify than Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.
With almost three generations separating the two politicians, Mr Tsvangirai could not outwit the President even with all odds against him. Not only can we talk of Mr Tsvangirai because even at international level, the Western countries known for their scheming and covert operations against governments and individuals they don’t like, failed to find a way past the veteran liberator and the only thing they could do was to punish the whole nation with sanctions.
George W. Bush, Tony Blair and now Barak Obama have all dismally failed to arm-twist President Mugabe. Now if you are a wise aspiring politician, opposition or not, this is one man you surely would want to learn from. He also makes mistakes, yes, but as for me I choose the positives because they outweigh the negatives. Now that the President has a tripartite responsibility, i.e, being President of Zimbabwe, being chairman of SADC and deputy chair of the AU, it becomes very crucial for those in Government to make his work easier by carrying out their duties with fervency and commitment.
Everyone with responsibility must sincerely work for the good of the country. In families, wise and prudent sons protect and promote the legacies of their aging parents. They take responsibility and repulse the enemy and in President Mugabe we have a political father whose legacy and image must be promoted and protected by those he has appointed to serve in his Government.
I once wrote that the best way to say thank you to the one who appointed you is to perform exceptionally well, yes, deliver results. It is now a wholly Zanu-PF Government and the acrimony that existed during the era of the inclusive Government is now a thing of the past. Therefore individual office bearers must take full responsibility of their performances.
This is also true of Zanu-PF itself as a party which if they truly respect and love President Mugabe, they should be one united family, speaking one language, standing by elected leadership and ensuring that democracy flourishes without compromising the ideals of the liberation struggle and ubuntu.
A lot has been written about factionalism in Zanu-PF and jostling for positions as its congress draws near in December and I would not want to bore the readers with repetitive narration, but at the end of the day all I am saying is that Zanu-PF members must not distract the President from fulfilling his national, regional and continental obligations.
His Excellency can deliver, but with everyone’s support. We celebrate with you, Your Excellency! May your national, regional and continental reign be fruitful. Congratulations Sir!!
Shame Isaki is a socio-political commentator, business consultant, and preacher. He can be contacted on 020-68818, 0773 018 662. Email:[email protected]
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