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Dr Jenfan Muswere
November, so politically eventful and discursively pregnant a month.
From the successful hosting of the SADC Heads of State and Government Extraordinary Summit, the success denialism by imperialist agents trampling of the neo-colonial jugular vein. The heavens are pouring rain on Pfumbvudza/Intwasa rich soils, the agro ecological tailoring and success of the Presidential Inputs Scheme is enhancing agricultural productivity and production.
The stabilisation of the Zim Gold (ZiG) is evidence of the macro-economic stability guaranteed by the central bank when the new currency was launched. The investor portfolio expansion is also instructive of the practical realisation of the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” policy drive. Other than the 100-day cycle achievements, Government has taken stock of the successful private sector participation in national development. This has been highlighted through the nation’s exponential industrial growth, investment influx in mining, agriculture beneficiation, home-grown infrastructure development acceleration and social amenities provision for all citizens.
On the other hand, the sporting and recreation economy has not been excluded from this development trajectory with policy forecast on massive rehabilitation, upgrading, maintenance, refurbishment and construction of stadiums. With these milestones and others to come, there is ample evidence of inter-sectional policy delivery across the Whole of Government.
Electoral loss denialism
In Zimbabwe, opposition parties go to extremes of spewing election defeat denialism propaganda. In 2018 the same opposition party failed to present any evidence of its claims of rigging by ZANU PF in a court of law. Ashamed of repeating the same mistake and exposing their folly in 2023, the same reactionary element did not take the court route melodrama. The same entity ignored its poor election campaign coordination, absence of electoral structures and low popularity. Even after squandering millions from their imperialist benefactors for regime change, the opposition continues to suffer electoral defeat from ZANU PF.
ZANU PF remains a cherished party of the people’s revolution. ZANU PF’s current popularity is a tried and tested leadership consequence of its people-centric policies for prosperity and empowerment of all Zimbabweans.
The Crime of Nationalist solidarities
ZANU PF has been falsely accused of rigging elections in some of the elections which have happened in the region. As per norm, ZANU PF gave moral support to its fellow liberation movements and it’s obscene for anyone to confuse this for rigging.
Compelled by diplomatic protocol and electoral best practice in the continent and globally, Zimbabwe sent election observers to some countries which were due for elections. Those ignorant of basic tenets of electoral diplomacy called this biased interference. In their minds, Zimbabwe should not be sending election observers, but the imperialists that back the opposition are sending them anyhow. We even had a media house which was using rented interviewees to claim that some Zimbabweans voted in other countries. What madness is that? It is evident that all this propaganda is tilted towards discrediting Zimbabwe. The same energy is not directed to problematise the meddling of colonial powers in African as election observers. The colonial powers denied Africans the right to democracy and the right to vote, but now arrogate the credibility and moral mandate to validate election results as the prefects of democracy. Colonial powers at the very least are unqualified to teach Africa on democracy.
Intellectual editorial laziness
A new syndrome has emerged in newsrooms due to intellectual editorial laziness. Some journalists no longer bother to verify facts, adhere to media ethic of impartiality and objectivity. The fourth estate co-exists with other estates and that epitomizes the importance of the separation of power as a cardinal foregrounding for governance. Therefore, the fourth estate cannot do whatever it deems, it is a subject of the law like any other estate. The fourth estate’s right to freedom of expression must not prejudice other estates, particularly the executive. Any attempt to eliminate the legitimacy of other estates by another is illogical.
Therefore, the frivolous and very unfortunate misguided fallacy by the NewsDay to the extent of claiming that the President is running parallel structures violates and betrays the rapport that the Second Republic has always longed to build with the forth-estate, particularly the private media.
As such, the continued notorious publishing of falsehoods by this paper to undermine the Head of State encourages the need to evoke permanent legal and political interventions which will bring an absolute end to this habitual malicious attack on the integrity of the Head of State by the NewsDay. The magnitude of intellectual laziness in some of our newsrooms defeats the mandate which the media should be contributing to — nation-building.
SADC Extraordinary Summit
The summit hosted in Harare as projected in my previous instalment in this publication exhibited the region’s commitment to peace, security and inclusive development. The resolution on the extension of the peace-keeping initiative in the DRC is emphatic of the region’s dedication to peace. It takes war for people to understand the value of peace and it’s easy to underestimate the importance of peace for a people who have not suffered the effects of war. Therefore, the summit must be understood within that overarching premise of promoting long lasting peace in the region. The due attention also given to the situation in Mozambique gestures the entire region’s respect for democracy. No propaganda accoutrement and neo-colonial machinations will coerce the region to abort its principles and protocols to undermine democracy. In the face of all this, the region is being shouldered on the wisdom of an all-time political, security and military genius of President Mnangagwa. No amount of propaganda will erase his long standing historical record of service to the continent. He is product of tutelage by eminent founding fathers of African liberation.
Back home
The generous budget release to all arms of the state signals the success of fiscal consolidation achieved by the government as the 2024 budget calendar ends. This means that all state locomotives have been fiscally oiled to lead Zimbabweans to an Upper-Middle Income Society by 2030. The safe march towards the launching of the National Development Strategy 2 cannot be hindered by any obstacle. The outcry on taxes imposed on takeaways ignores that taxing fast-foods is taxing cancer, sugar tax is a tax against sugar diabetes in as much as plastic tax is a tax on climate change. We are better off with a huge tax burden on unhealthy eating and on environmentally unfriendly habits given the looming effects of climate change. We owe the planet kindness for it to be reciprocally kind to us. We must encourage eating which takes care of our bodies now so that our bodies in turn take good care of us in the future. Such is the logic behind the tax regime by the Ministry of Finance. We must take a leaf from the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s gastronomy exploits anchored on encouraging household food security and supporting healthy eating habits among our people. As such, it is befitting and well deserved that she is now a holder of an earned Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Tourism — a discipline which also entails culinary art (an area she continues to excel in).
Her accolade demonstrates how Dr Mnangagwa epitomises a philo-praxis to nation-building through epistemic excellence and practical community leadership convergence. Her well-rounded academic sophistication, avid commitment to heritage preservation, proven community building projects and industrious character depict a profound personification of Education 5.0 through her newly acquired scholarly feat. Dr Mnangagwa is an inspiration not only to all living women in the world, but she is an inspiration even to the unborn girl-child. Her passion for hard-work is inspiring.
Makoroto Amai.
Dr Hon Jenfan Muswere (MP Makoni West) is the Minister of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services
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