RECENT political developments in the country have cemented suspicions that President Robert Mugabe is out to ensure a political dynasty in Zimbabwe.
Comment: NewsDay Editor
This is not only unfortunate, especially as Zimbabwe is rated as one of the few African countries with a very high literacy rate.
We have no doubt that Zimbabweans do not mean ill for the President and his family, but that as Head of State, he should ensure equity in the distribution of key postings in government and State corporations, failing which he could be accused of nepotism or despotism.
It is, therefore, within Zimbabweans to query Mugabe’s actions, given he is the only leader this country has known since Independence.
The fact that one is related to the President or his wife, First Lady Grace Mugabe, should not be a prerequisite for a top posting in government or its institutions as has happened in the case of the First Family’s son-in-law, Simba Chikore, when he was appointed chief operating officer for Air Zimbabwe.
That alone shows that Mugabe wants to ensure an empire that will preside over the governance of the country for many years to come.
With Mugabe — who has dominated local politics over the last five decades — in the twilight of both his life and political career, indeed the subject of leadership renewal is critical.
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Remarks made by Grace and the manner in which she entered politics has raised concern there could be moves to create a dynasty, something that flies in the face of democratic tenets that Zimbabwe espouses.
It is an open secret that it is the war veterans who have for long been the bastion of Mugabe’s hold on power. The fact that they have realised they can turn the tables against him comes in handy for the opposition political parties, but still, Mugabe can salvage himself by speaking out against such Stone Age plans.
We would want to believe that whatever Mugabe has done was in the national interest — good or bad — and so prosecuting him will be a sheer waste of time and scarce resources.
But Mugabe must be warned that in the same manner the war veterans have helped keep him at the helm for many years, they can also help depose of him come 2018 because there is power in numbers.
The only favour Mugabe can do for himself and his family is to extricate themselves from the mess — that is, continuing to meddle in the appointment of key staff in State corporations and government departments.
Mugabe should not favour his family connections alone, but must create favourable conditions for all qualified Zimbabweans. That way, he would have saved himself from unnecessary trouble.
This is why Zimbabweans are hoping that the war veterans will not backtrack on their word or allow Mugabe to sweet-talk them back into his fold.
It was quite heartening to hear the liberation war fighters saying even someone who didn’t fight the liberation war should be suitable to take over from Mugabe.
Elsewhere in Africa, young leaders have emerged to forge a new trajectory that has seen their countries develop in leaps and bounds, while Zimbabwe retrogressed, with leaders obsessed with a 1970s war rather than the future of the country.
Even the war veterans themselves appear to have realised that the majority of them are not enjoying the fruits of the liberation war in which they fought.
Clearly, Zimbabwe is crying for a new leader with a vision for the future and one who will not bask in the fading glory of the past as the majority wallow in penury and unemployment.
