Zanu-PF dominates political space

Muchadura Dube
THE Zimbabwe political landscape is quite an intrigue to novices, given the numerous twists and turns that it has assumed since the year 2000. Interestingly, permutations and combinations point to the unmitigated dominance of Zanu-PF in a political field that the former coloniser, Britain, sought, but failed to effect illegal regime change in favour of its puppetry figure, the controversial serial womaniser, Mr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.

Much to the chagrin of the British, who were left with an egg on their face as their marionette Mr Tsvangirai got a hiding at the hands of the resurgent and reinvigorated Zanu-PF, the woes look certain to haunt them even further given the unrepentant stance which they continue to posture.

Recently, I watched in agony as the new British Ambassador, Ambassador Catriona Wendy Campbell Laing, sought to dispel the fact that sanctions are real and a thorn in the flesh of ordinary Zimbabweans.

The Ambassador looked distraught as she hopelessly recited the all-too-familiar song of ‘no sanctions’ but the so-called restrictive measures. One would have thought that the British would have started on a new slate by admitting the existence of their diabolical sanctions which were buttressed by the enactment of a punitive legislative instrument, Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) by their American poodle.

The situation has been complicated for the British as its lead agent for regime change MDCT-T has once more been pummeled into submission in the latest electoral contest, a by-election in Chitungwiza.

Zanu-PF won the election by a margin of more than 80 percent, with its candidate, Cde Simpson Mhike, aka Madzibaba, romping to victory with a convincing 993 votes against a meager 91 votes for Kenneth Chinyaure of the MDC-T.

When MDC-T entered Zimbabwe’s political landscape, it dominated virtually all political contests in the urban areas, a scenario which the revolutionary party, Zanu-PF has started in earnest to permanently reverse.

With speculation rife among some naïve political analysts positing that the factional fights within Zanu-PF will affect its political fortunes, it is refreshing for the party to emerge victorious.

This writer has always argued that if one wants to see Zanu-PF at full throttle, attack it politically when its members are allegedly involved in internal democratic exercises which some nitwits want to fondly term factions, the revolutionary party will roar like a lioness on the prowl to devour its prey.

This is the typical Zanu-PF which liberated the nation from the shackles of oppression and is once more empowering its citizenry with a diverse portfolio of measures. It is the giant cockerel ruling the roost in Zimbabwean politics; its sphere of influence has spread its tentacles to the region, the continent and indeed beyond.

If elections were to be called today, opposition politics in Zimbabwe would be a thing of the past. The statistics speak volumes of Zanu-PF’s territorial dominance.

Out of the 1 958 wards, Zanu-PF controls 1 501 against the MDC-T’s 442. The MDC-T has become easy political prey for Zanu-PF, what with its lack of an alternative policy framework to Zanu-PF’s economic blueprint, Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

The only ambition existing in the MDC-T is to be the perpetual opposition party. That is where the party belongs.

Even its so-called urban strongholds are now certainly Zanu-PF’s hunting ground.

As in the Chitungwiza by-election victory, Zanu-PF won in Mbare Ward 12, Gweru Mkoba Ward 12 and Kadoma Ward 4.

This is ample demonstration that the people have come to embrace the party’s ideals. The glory days of immediate post-independence era, when the revolutionary party would sweep the entire seats on offer save for one or two, are back.

The recent conclusion of mega deals by the Zanu-PF-led Government with the Chinese and Russians will only add momentum to the party’s electoral conquest in the 2018 elections. A glance at the unfolding drama at the numerous MDC formations which I am sure will assume a double digit by the time elections are held, given the internecine fights amongst them, reveals a picture of fractured political entities.

The perennial tug of war between these too familiar faces in the opposition has assumed a new dimension of personnel enrichment which renders a nullity their characteristic verbiage on equity and empathy for the poor.

These opposition figures have a penchant for luxury, a sweet tooth, which defies logic.

Does anyone still remember the extravagant lifestyle that the-then prime minister in the inclusive Government, Mr Tsvangirai, had? This saw him being christened “Legend of the Seas” after his infamous escapades with a South African woman, Nosipho Shilubane, whom he had boat cruises with in the Seychelles.

Added to that, his frequenting of expensive hotels outside Zimbabwe exhibited an unmatched passion for luxurious life. The opposition parties are indeed digging their political graves; it is certainly a recipe for total demise of the already fractious opposition.

As elections are one of the key barometers by which the popularity of political parties is judged, the political fortunes of the revolutionary party, Zanu-PF, continue to rise. Indeed better days beckon for the people’s party.

Muchadura Dube is a Nyanga-based farmer and political analyst.