Liberation parties knuckle down

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
Southern Africa’s former liberation movements will come up with a common strategy to offset Western powers seeking to replace their governments with lackeys under the guise of promoting democracy.
Secretaries-general of Zanu-PF (Zimbabwe), African National Congress (South Africa), Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Tanzania), Swapo (Namibia), Frelimo (Mozambique) and MPLA (Angola) made the resolution at the end of a four-day retreat in Victoria Falls that ended yesterday.
Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration Cde Ignatius Chombo, who chaired the meeting, presented resolutions which called for close co-operation among the political parties.
“The Western-orchestrated regime change agenda is not sparing any one of us. Therefore, there is an urgent need to give special attention to our common challenges,” he said while presenting the resolutions.
“For as long as we stay in unity and face our challenges as a family, like we did during the struggle for our political independence, victory is certain. Never shall we allow complacency to threaten our political power.”
Cde Chombo said the meeting critically analysed the common political, social, economic and security challenges faced by former liberation war movements with a view to finding solutions to neutralise and eliminate threats.
The meeting recommended that parties closely co-operate on strategic implementation of joint programmes of action designed to closely monitor and proactively intervene in situations where regime change is targeted.
The parties also recommended speedy implementation of the Political Party School to prioritise training of cadres.
“Such training will raise political, ideological and leadership competencies of members,” Cde Chombo said.
Each party will be required at all times to promote strict adherence to constitutions, rules and regulations to inculcate patriotism and discipline, added Cde Chombo.
The four-day retreat reiterated the call made at their meeting in Mozambique last year on the need to uphold the legacy and history of the armed struggles for the liberation of the people of Southern Africa.
The former liberation parties’ secretaries-general will brief their principals on their recommendations.
Addressing the meeting earlier in the week, Cde Chombo said: “At the height of the liberation struggle, when things went wrong and when there was need to explore different ways to attack the enemy, a strategic retreat was necessary to regroup, re-strategise, reorganise and re-launch a vigorous counter attack.
“We are gathered here today precisely for that same reason to have a fresh look at the enemy’s intentions and strategies to enable us to identify and adopt appropriate counter measures on a collaborative level in defence of our people and our revolution.”
He said the common goal was to liberate ordinary citizens from poverty and ensure their participation in the mainstream economy.
Cde Chombo said for 15 years since the Fast Track Land Reform Programme started, Zanu-PF had endured a British onslaught but shown resilience because of support rendered by sister movements.
He said Zanu-PF had experienced virulent and sustained attacks from hostile forces bent on seeing the party’s demise, and who wanted to use Zimbabwe as a “laboratory to test their anti-liberation movement” agenda.
ANC Secretary-General Cde Gwede Mantashe said the region was going through a revolution hence the need for unity.
“It’s important for us to assure our comrades by presenting a well-researched document at the next meeting in Angola for a review of what will come out of here.
‘‘We are going through a transition from colonial apartheid to a united democratic state and as ANC we have taken this as a national democratic revolution since 1994 when we gained independence,” he said.
Secretaries- generals representing their parties at the meeting were Cdes Juliao Mateus (MPLA), Nangolo Mbumba (Swapo), Abdulrahman Kinana (CCM) and Eliseu Machava (Frelimo).