By Bernard Bwoni
The murky and turbulent waters of
factional politics within the ruling party have now calmed with an outcome that
represents an epic ideological victory that is to shape the country. The events
of the recent few months have been a sure test for the ruling party that posed
a genuine threat against what really defines the ruling party and the ethos of
the liberation struggle which had the potential for an unprecedented
ideological implosion. Zimbabwe is still a very young nation and as such prone
to developmental weaknesses and opportunities for growth. The internal and external
threats, the inter-party and intra-party had the potential to cause a
cataclysmic ideological unravelling and now that has been and is still being
addressed. Some wayward individuals within the ruling party leadership ranks
chose to bargain the ideology of party collectivism for personal ambition
individualism. Many succumbed and compromised their own and the party ideals
for self-preservation in preparing for political careers past a
constitutionally elected leadership. Those who compromised party ideals to
further personal agendas have now been left languishing on the wrong side of
the political fence and rightly so.
The distorted psyche, the degenerate overtures, the hasty quest
for political stardom, the greed and cover-up of financial felonies is what led
to this loss of moral mettle and the advent of this cushy culture of impunity
and invincibility. On their brief expedition towards personal power they ditched
their party responsibilities for own personal ambitions. The Machiavellian
menaces of factional and over-ambitious politics is what relegated these
heroes-come-counterrevolutionaries to the edges of the ruling party ranks. They
allowed themselves to go against the core values and ideals of the party and
the party had no choice but redirect them and put them back in line. The mesmeric pre-Congress dramatic unfolding and the
captivating conclusion to it all has brought about clarity and reassurances of
a one united ruling party without any fissures from the tectonic activity of
the recent few months. The former Vice President of Zimbabwe Dr Joyce Mujuru
summed it up well when she said “Mind you I don’t know any other party other
than Zanu PF and that’s my party. And I will die in Zanu PF.”
It is because of this political
and economic elitism that those who lost their way drew their confidence from
to run parallel structures to the tried and tested leadership of President
Mugabe. It is only because of the rich history of the ruling party and the
astute leadership of President Mugabe that the party was able to navigate the factional
and treacherous political landscape that had been specifically designed by a
select elite grouping of restless and over-ambitious simple-minded individuals
who embraced machinations which have historically sought to undermine Zimbabwe’s
quest for genuine political and economic emancipation. The simplicity stems
from the fact that many in the ruling party have tried the very same before and
have failed spectacularly. The colossal figures the likes of Edgar Tekere,
Simba Makoni, Ndabaningi Sithole, Margaret Dongo just to name but a few have
all taken that route to the exterior of the ruling party hoping for lone
victories only to find themselves alone and instantly irrelevant. They should
have known better surely.
The unsettled and over-zealous caucus
within the ruling party quickly jumped on the bandwagon in anticipatory naivety
and a misguided sense of entitlement to power by virtue of being on the vice
side of things. This coterie of the muddled suffered tunnel vision and was built
on simplistic ideas of self-preservation and accumulation and more accumulation.
The treachery is derived from the fact that members of this subversive
syndicate chose to indulge in unsanctioned associations and private unrecorded
meetings with known agents of the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe and the
marionette local opposition. They sought
to undermine their very own from within and something was definitely amiss with
the over-familiarity with those elements that sought to destabilise and
undermine Zimbabwe. The real problem with this counter-revolutionary clique is
that they did not really stand for anything because by deviating from the
principles and objectives of their party they ended up standing for nothing
other than personal gains. The only outcome of their self-seeking activities
was exposing the ruling party to the same schemes the local opposition has
employed to effect regime change in Zimbabwe. The biggest mistake was excessive
confidence in simple ideas that ran parallel to the body polity and the
mistaken thinking that power was already in the bag. Any political party is
bigger than its minute and individual pieces and that is the fate of all those
implicated.
The fact that they embraced the opposition and agents and elements
known to have continually pursued an illegal agenda truly undermined the
validity of this grouping and was in effect undermining the ruling party ideology
and Zimbabwe as a country. It is hard to stomach the fact that it was some revered
liberation war heroes who chose to cuddle up to the erstwhile enemy they so exhaustively
defeated during the prolonged liberation war struggle. They chose to sacrifice
the country’s hard won sovereignty for a quick gateway to the top job in
Zimbabwe. The realignment that has happened within the ruling party ranks has
appropriately placed the accountability of the transgressions to those
responsible. The ruling party has taken the right steps to counter the alleged
sabotage and anyone anywhere else would have done the same. The realignment was
necessary because even though those implicated belonged to the revolutionary
fold they were working on the other side of the revolution and clandestinely
seeking to derail the very same revolution. The ruling party has emerged from
the ruckus and fracas even stronger and united contrary to pre-congress speculation
of a fragmented and weak party. The main thrust now that the party has rid itself
of the internal counter-revolutionaries is the country’s frail economy. The two
Vice Presidents and the whole team are in place and there is clarity in terms
of rank and order.
bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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