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Mugabe speech devoid of future

Opinion & Analysis
President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday officially opened the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament and hosted a luncheon for MPs

President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday officially opened the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament and hosted a luncheon for MPs, but his address could have been lost along the way.

NewsDay Editorial

Mugabe’s speech yet again demonstrated a real lack of leadership.

He failed to articulate what Zimbabweans were eagerly waiting to hear from their leader — how government would resuscitate the ailing economy, poverty, corruption, liquidity challenges and factionalism within his Zanu PF party which have paralysed government operations.

His wife, First Lady Grace Mugabe, is also shooting from the hip and many within Zanu PF have recoiled for the “political whirlwind” to pass. Grace has over the last few weeks savaged Vice-President Joice Mujuru and such kind of things can only serve to paralyse government operations.

It is the poor that will suffer from this confusion. It’s not good for the business environment. It is apparent that there is no distinction between party politics and government functions. Firms are struggling financially and yet it seems as though Mugabe is completely divorced from this reality.

Regrettably, Mugabe made no reference to how government would seek to revive neither the exhausted economy nor how he would deal with increasing cases of graft which have permeated almost all facets of our society.

We believe these issues are at the core of Zimbabwe’s wellbeing, hence we expected Mugabe to spell out how he would deal with such social ills. Mugabe skirted, failed and/or ignored all important matters, yet he focused on Zanu PF factional fighting.

One wonders whether Mugabe has political will to deal decisively with graft issues perpetrated by top government officials, even from his office. One has a feeling that his speech to Parliament was a repeat of what he has said before — nothing out of the ordinary. It appears to him its just tradition.

His presentation was a tired regurgitation of past events, hence he does not need to be taken seriously. By his speech, Mugabe sent wrong signals that sleaze is acceptable and delinquents are rewarded with fancy cars and more job titles for as long as they are politically connected.

No doubt nothing is working in Zimbabwe, power outages are the order of the day, continuously frustrating ordinary citizens that cannot afford any other form of energy, over 4 000 workers have lost their jobs and firms are failing to pay salaries.

Is Mugabe clueless about how he will turn around Zimbabwe’s fortunes? Zimbabweans are not worried by the factional fighting taking place in his Zanu PF. They are concerned about how they will put food on their tables. Poverty is stalking the majority of Zimbabweans while the few enjoy exploitation of Zimbabwe’s mineral resources.

While he spelt out the Bills and pieces of legislation to be dealt with during the parliamentary calendar, his address at the luncheon for the same event smacks of abuse of his privileged position.

Mugabe should focus on the urgent need for national unity in government and a national unity of purpose. Leadership is defined by actions and courage and humility. He must act decisively, with the interests of Zimbabweans at heart.

The President should take enormous steps to put the economy and society on a sustainable footing.

We believe the time has come for political collaboration. The time has come to renew our efforts.