IF ever anyone needed evidence that President Robert Mugabe and his government are clueless and out of touch with reality, yesterday’s opening of Parliament was the perfect example.
Instead of reading the opening of Parliament speech, Mugabe mistakenly reread his State of the Nation Address of almost three weeks ago, which in itself was stale and uninspiring.
While anyone can make a mistake, the fact that Mugabe continued with the speech and his Zanu PF party immediately moved a motion to debate the address at Parliament’s next sitting is a clear indicator that the ruling party has no idea what is going on, they live for the moment.
All manner of excuses will be given for the glaring mistake, but this is an indictment on Mugabe’s whole administration, which is increasingly more erratic with each passing day.
The manner in which Mugabe read an old speech and the way it was accepted by his party is exactly how they have been governing Zimbabwe for the past 35 years.
Where the nation has needed inspiration, Mugabe has given us propaganda; where the nation has needed vision, Zanu PF has belaboured Zimbabwe with a record of the past and all this came full circle in Parliament yesterday.
No amount of grandiosity can mask Mugabe’s error and Zimbabweans will come to realise what kind of leader they have at the helm.
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Mugabe has been in power for 35 years and the joke is on us Zimbabweans if we expect anything new from him. While other countries have moved on to elect younger, vibrant and pragmatic leaders, we have remained with a leader who is clearly yesterday’s man.
Of late Mugabe’s addresses have become increasingly stale and void of any motivation or vigour and that is what we should expect from someone at 91.
If Zanu PF and Mugabe were sincere about preserving the President’s legacy, surely they need to be open and honest about the succession issue.
Zanu PF cannot continue pretending Mugabe’s age is not an issue, because each time such mistakes occur, they will be attributed to how old he is and would be an embarrassing stain on the legacy they so much want to build.
Why Zanu PF continues to evade the succession issue remains a mystery and instead of concentrating on their role in the liberation struggle being their legacy, they risk being remembered as a party that failed to renew itself, leading to its own destruction.
Our advice to Zanu PF and all other parties is that regeneration and renewal are important tenets for, not only their growth, but also for the advancement of the country.
As long as Zanu PF continues to consider Mugabe as the only centre of power, such errors, as yesterday’s, will be the order of the day and another blemish on their already stained image.
