Chronicle Editor
POLITICAL parties are by nature, voluntary organisations formed on the basis of shared values, ethos and ideologies. They are bound by their constitutions and set of rules and regulations that each member has to follow religiously.
Zanu-PF, the vanguard party of independence, is a monolithic organisation with tentacles that straddle the length and breadth of Zimbabwe. With values steeped in the liberation struggle, it has a strong bond with the masses hence its stranglehold on the levers of power since 1980.
Its founding fathers were fiery nationalists and although some of them are no longer with us, they passed down the revolutionary ethos to future generations and always emphasised the need to maintain the unity of the party and nation.
Granted, from the days of the liberation war in the 1960s and 70s, there were always disagreements among the party cadres, some of which turned fatal, but there was always a clear focus on the ultimate goal of liberating the country.
To prosecute the war successfully, there was a need to maintain unity and cohesion within the top echelons and the rank and file; a clear command structure between the political leadership and the armed wing. This was possible because cadres were DISCIPLINED.
They followed orders because they trusted that their leaders were making the right decisions for the good of the country. Today, Zanu-PF still stands and commands a massive two thirds majority in Parliament with a threat to its continued rule miniscule.
Its focus is on the economy which is showing signs of rebounding following years of haemorrhaging under the First Republic. The party can ill-afford unnecessary side-shows, acts of indiscipline and insolence at a time when Zimbabweans expect it to address bread and butter issues affecting them on a daily basis.
We therefore find it unfortunate and regrettable that some members of the Youth League — itself a key pillar of the party — have chosen this critical moment to exhibit high levels of indiscipline when we expect better from them.
President Mnangagwa has made it crystal clear that he abhors corruption and has made it the nation’s number one enemy. He has reconstituted the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, given it teeth (arresting powers) and capacitated it to carry out investigations which can lead to successful prosecutions in the courts of law.
In addition, the President has assisted the Judiciary to set up Specialised Anti-Corruption courts, overseen the Zimbabwe Republic Police retraining and reforms to sharpen its investigative skills and introduced a Specialised Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet whose mandate is to resource and protect prosecutors working on corruption cases.
President Mnangagwa’s administration has also introduced new legislation such as the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Bill which will empower ZACC, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and the police to compel individuals with unexplained wealth to account for it failure to which may result in prosecution and forfeiture of such ill-gotten wealth to the State. So a lot is being done to curb corruption and it is important that laid down procedures and processes are followed in clamping down on graft.
The decision by former Zanu-PF Youth League deputy Secretary Cde Lewis Matutu and his Commissariat compatriot, Cde Godfrey Tsenengamu, to address a press conference on Monday and publicly make allegations of massive corruption against three prominent businessmen without incontrovertible evidence was highly irregular and went against the rules and regulations of the party.
It also showed gross disdain for authority given that the same individuals were warned in June last year to follow party procedures when making allegations of corruption against other people.
At that time, President Mnangagwa constituted a Commission of Inquiry to look into the allegations they raised but warned them against breaking party rules in future by naming and shaming people without following procedure.
Such allegations or evidence, the President said, should be directed to the relevant agencies such as ZACC or the ZRP. By playing to the gallery, grandstanding and disregarding party rules and regulations, Cdes Matutu and Tsenengamu are hoist by their own petard and should not blame anyone for the punishment meted out to them by the Politburo which suspended them for a year at its meeting on Wednesday.
Youth League Secretary Cde Pupurai Togarepi, who was suspended but remains a Central Committee member, also deserved sanction for supporting the actions of the duo. The trio should use the period of their suspension to introspect and religiously attend their training lessons at the Chitepo School of Ideology where the party’s values and ethos will hopefully be ingrained in them.
Discipline is the cornerstone of any organisation and by suspending the three, Zanu-PF has shown that it will not tolerate chaos and lawlessness in the governing party.
President Mnangagwa summed it well in his opening remarks to Wednesday’s Politburo meeting when he urged party members to exercise high levels of discipline. “We must all guard against misguided and misdirected activism which threatens the party’s unity, cohesion and singleness of purpose. Such behaviour will never be condoned,” he said.
Online Reporter