adminMuchadura Dube
THE ruling party, Zanu-PF, has its congress slated from December 2 to 7, 2014, where a new leadership is to be elected among a host of other constitutional matters of the party which will be fulfilled.
Of course, the President of the party’s position has already been filled after all the provinces, the youth league and the women’s league overwhelmingly endorsed His Excellency, President Mugabe, to that position.
To add glamour to the endorsement of the President, the First Lady has also been endorsed by all the organs of the party. The remaining leadership positions will be filled at the congress. That prospective leadership to be elected at the congress has to be grounded in the liberation ethos which has provided the inspiration to the liberation and continues to be the shining beacon in all party endeavours.
President Mugabe needs to have lieutenants whose ears are on the ground, receptive to the whims and aspirations of the people. The cadres who will be chosen have to copy the way President Mugabe undertakes his tasks and responsibilities.
The way President Mugabe empathises with the poor and the vulnerable is exceptional, a feat which ordinary politicians always view as a Herculean task. The ordinary cadre devoid of revolutionary ethics will take the opportunity of leading as an avenue to loot and enrich oneself, negatively impacting on the livelihoods of the populace.
It is refreshing that President Mugabe has reaffirmed that all those bent on causing chaos in the revolutionary party will be dealt with accordingly.
Addressing parliamentarians and invited guests at a luncheon hosted by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing in Harare on Tuesday, President Mugabe hinted that all the nonsense aligned to the factional friction within the revolutionary party will be rooted out at congress, serving as a warning to all those with inimical plans that their machinations will indeed come to naught.
The congress provides a window of opportunity for the party to inject momentum into the ongoing economic revival crusade which can only be a reality if the Zanu-PF leadership continues to refine and perfect the path. The congress’s theme is aptly titled: “Accelerated Implementation of Zim-Asset.”
The populace has varied expectations which are critically hinged on economic growth which will enable the generality of the people to derive at least some benefit from this noble economic blueprint. At the luncheon which President Mugabe addressed, he expressed outrage at the continued admiration of theory at the expense of implementation, the only panacea to the challenges facing the nation.
Zimbabweans are famed for their academic prowess, their ability to produce modern and internationally acclaimed and certified academic papers. The nation’s Achilles’ heel is the inability by its academically gifted nationals to translate their brilliant paper work into tangible and practical initiatives.
It is only implementation of those lofty ideas for the benefit of the people which will render the nation the economic status which we all crave for. That path if followed to its logical conclusion will be the harbinger of joy for the nation.
As we undertake these national responsibilities, the virtue of patience should be a permanent feature for, as the old adage advises, Rome was never a creation of a single day.
As in the case of our beloved Zimbabwe, victory is certain.
The congress is also an opportunity to celebrate the nation’s diversity, the peace which is our national hallmark, the unity which continues to hold the nation’s detractors at bay and the work in progress development activities as enunciated by the all-encompassing empowerment laws which hold promise to the current generation and indeed posterity.
No amount of intimidation by the rapacious monsters in the West should cow the leadership in implementing the already enacted pro-people policies, such as the indigenous economic empowerment models.
There is no economy in the world which has grown and awarded meaningful dividends to its people without substantial indigenous participation. Yes, foreigners are welcome to inject capital and participate in the economy, but it must never be undertaken at the cost of indigenous people’s participation and empowerment.
Just a glimpse into the American and British economies, it is a fact that it is Americans and the British who own those respective economies.
The same should apply for Africans and their economies.
The leadership should therefore affirm at Congress that the broad-based empowerment initiatives shall be eternally etched in the nation’s statutes; it is a permanent agenda that will transform the nation’s economic fortunes.
The resolute manner in which the revolutionary Zanu-PF Government has continued to steer the nation should be applauded, its unwavering stance on the sacredness of the country’s sovereignty and the freedom of its people to determine their destiny is a sign of a party and government rooted in the masses.
The party should continue to consolidate the gains gained this far, ensuring that the political autonomy which we enjoy is transferred to the economic arena. It is possible that economic freedom will be a reality in our lifetime.
Online Reporter