By Bernard Bwoni
The current propaganda blitz
against the ruling party, President Mugabe and the government of Zimbabwe is to
be expected and will intensify leading up to the 2018 general elections. The regime
change machinations have failed to push through and impose a candidate of their
choice via the electoral process in Zimbabwe over the years. They have propped
up and funded opposition politics to effect regime change and their efforts
have come to nought thus far. The ruling party has remained resolute and true
to its core and people-orientated policies, albeit not without challenges of
course. The people of Zimbabwe have voted overwhelmingly in support of the
ruling party and from the look of things nothing much is going to change in the
2018 general election. This is what is frustrating the funders and founders of
the regime change projects in Zimbabwe. They are now clearly aware that regime
change is not going to come the way they initially intended, thus they are
drastically changing their tactics. They are beginning to re-emerge from their recollection
hibernation and this time they seem to be going for broke as they are convinced
that transition to their neo-colonial packaged version of democracy is only
going to be ushered in by activism, induced public agitation, violence and even
blood. The stakes are that high.
The well-choreographed
offensive against Zimbabwe and President Mugabe is going to persist and there
is a renewed vigour to sow the seeds of discontent, division and despair among
the masses in Zimbabwe. The crux of this propaganda thrust is to over-emphasise
alleged “failures and disasters” by the ruling party which they attribute to
the President of the country. This is why individuals like Pastor Evan Mawarire
have been unleashed and getting coaching lessons as we speak. Mawarire’s
message has been deliberately repetitive with the specific purpose of gauging
and changing public perception. The sole purpose of this offensive is to
magnify and elevate the negatives while downgrading anything positive relating
to President Mugabe or the ruling party. There is a deliberate focus on
falsehoods, lies and fabrications to give credibility to their agenda. Any
positive developments that have been happening or are happening under the
ruling party are deliberately downplayed, ridiculed and stifled in a way that
they are never brought to the fore. Anything positive linked to President
Mugabe scares those anti-Zimbabwe and anti-ZANU-PF sceptics who are pushing for
an unconstitutional change of government in Zimbabwe.
The social media bombardment
against Zimbabwe and President Mugabe is merely to plant seeds of division
within the ruling party and create mass demoralisation and despondency. There
is nothing organic about the so-called flag movement. It is a deliberate,
systematic and sustained strategy meant to create resonance with the masses’
sanctions-induced suffering. The idea behind this strategy is to exempt any
external factors in Zimbabwe’s economic woes and simply put emphasis on “supposed
and alleged” government failures. There is a sustained and relentless
accentuation of an imminent implosion and impending catastrophic economic
collapse. This is a calculated use of the fear factor to agitate the masses and
separate them from anything Robert Mugabe or ZANU-PF. This unprecedented
propaganda drive against President Mugabe is specifically intended to enhance
any fractures within the ruling that could lead to an implosion. The idea is to
manage and cause that implosion. The truth, facts and evidence have now been
permanently side-lined in favour of falsehoods and fabrications with the sole
purpose to tarnish the name of the President and to turn the masses against him
and the ruling party. Fortunately, the masses can see past through this layers
of lies and half-truths. The recent march in support of President Mugabe a few
days ago clearly highlights futileness of the efforts of the regime change
machinations. The majority of people in Zimbabwe are rational and objective,
and are able to navigate through these deliberate distortions which seek to
exploit this mass demoralisation exercise to effect regime change in the
country.
It is important to highlight
that some of the ruling party’s current problems relating to indiscipline and
potential are in fact self-inflicted. The party allowed itself to be
infiltrated and compromised by some opportunistic individuals with no marrow or
moral mettle. The party was systematically infiltrated by these so-called
moderates who can neither point to or stand for any principles whatsoever. These
are individuals who shamelessly jumped on the ZANU-PF ticket to derive and
extract certain benefits and privileges during the date yet nibble at the core
of the party in the privacy of darkness. These are the individuals who will
watch as the pendulum swings and will jump on any side it stops. These are the
same individuals who will then ill of the ruling party when they are ejected from
the comforts of the party. The ruling party and Zimbabwe have been under
crippling economic sanctions for the better part of the last 15 years. The party,
under the resolute stewardship of President Mugabe has managed to hold the
country together amid the sanction-induced hardships inflicted upon the masses
in Zimbabwe. ZANU-PF has largely remained united and managed to fend off major
economic and political sabotage attempts, and hence the frustration and
desperation of the architects of the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe.
The social media onslaught
against President Mugabe and the ruling party highlights the defeatism and
desperation of these outfits. Having failed to destroy and dislodge ZANU-PF
from outside, it appears that the strategy has shifted to more enhanced
attempts at causing fractures very close to the nucleus of the party. One can
only feel for President Mugabe and the ruling party having to battle the
external saboteurs and illicit internal infiltration and meddling. The case of
the recent Communique and statement allegedly from the Zimbabwe National
Liberation War Veterans Association is a clear case of attempts by some
unprincipled individuals (not the war vets) to further fracture the core of the
ruling party. No one is taking ownership of the said statement and Communique
and this seem to point to a more sinister plot to hijack what could have been
genuine dialogue between the war veterans and their patron President Mugabe. I
have respect for the war veterans and will forever be indebted to the
sacrifices they made for the liberation of Zimbabwe. There are no two ways
about that. The fact that all are denying any ownership or authorship of this
damning and divisive communique points to nothing more than meddling by some
unprincipled individuals to cause friction between the President and the war
veterans. The party regrettably allowed unscrupulous individuals who can easily
be turned, into its core and these are the inevitable but unintended outcomes.
It is unfortunate that a
composite structure of the ZANU-PF disposition allowed itself to be compromised
in this manner by some destructive and divisive elements. The war vets are
rightly the vanguards of the country’s revolution and play an important role in
stabilising the party and country. That should never be allowed to change
because any such cracks will be celebrated by the regime change architects who
have already started ululating and celebrating the alleged rifts and divisions.
The fact that the generality of the war veteran has distanced themselves from
this ill-advised communique points to devious individuals behind its authorship
and abrupt publication. The regime change machinations are smelling blood and
hence the concerted efforts to magnify any cracks, crevices and signs of
divisions within the party. The injection of Pastor Mawarire into the mix is
not an accident but a well calculated move to have a man of the cloth in pole position
to push forward an opposition agenda. The majority of Zimbabwean people are
inseparable from the Christian religion, and thus to unite the masses against
ZANU-PF, what better way than to create an impression of impartiality masked by
religion. The dewy-eyed Pastor Mawarire fits perfectly in this regime change
matrix clearly designed and being thrust forward as the voice of the citizens
(This is in no way meant to downplay the masses’ grievances and suffering). The
idea is to disable the ruling party by exploiting any possible cracks and
increase mass agitation through misinformation and disinformation via social
network sites and social media.
The ZANU-PF inspired
revolution and black economic empowerment gains are under threat owing to the
so-called moderates who invited and allowed such a precarious state of affairs
to exist and persist. The ruling party has committed and unwavering cadres who
are consistent in their defence of the party. In the end the ruling party
always triumphs amid all adversity. We have the history and track record to
prove it. Social media does not install Presidents; it is the will of the
people that does.
No comments:
Post a Comment