By Cyprian M Ndawana
COMPETITION to present Zanu PF for what it really is, the ruining party, is in full swing. Ever since the appointment of Foreign Affairs minister Frederick Shava, a documented corruption convict, to Cabinet, floodgates for in-house destruction of governance have swung open.
It is an obligation for ambassadors to furnish their governments with candid reports about their host countries. It, therefore, goes that the appointment of someone who is tainted as Shava was blatantly impudent to the global community.
Frankly, Zimbabwe does not afford the luxury of a minister with a checkered reputation. It is an affront to citizenry and the international community to burden them with a man who is proven to be dishonest. He deserves to be anywhere else, but certainly not in government.
His presence in Cabinet is an inhibitor to economic recovery. It runs contrary to the new beginnings of engagement which the new dispensation yearns to capitalise on.
He is a spanner in the works. Essentially, by appointing him, President Emmerson Mnangagwa committed the suitability test oversight of regarding him as the brick that was initially rejected by the builders, but was later used to build the cornerstone. Yet, he is a bad omen.
It is the norm that communication requires reputation with a variation to achieve penetration. Hence, my strategy for achieving penetration is to repackage the Shava appointment debacle in plain sight of God and man, in a varied discourse from my previous open letter.
Ruination from inside has gotten intense. Cadres are stampeding with zeal to outdo each other. As I see it, talk about the Patriotic Bill is plainly a convenient blame game. Who needs to be wary of outside forces when devastating self harm can be caused from within?
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
God forbid! There ought not be one among citizenry who could be gullible to buy in to such blurney as Vision 2030. A regime that assigns the functions of building global mutual relations to a disrepute does not inspire confidence to have vision beyond its nose.
Now, destruction from within is whirling, with unrestrained perversion that surpasses all understanding. As utterances by Zanu PF and government officials continue to cause despondency, me thinks insightful words penned by poet, Anne Sexton, spring to mind.
She presaged, “Words, like eggs, must be handled with care; once broken, they are beyond repair.” Her anticipatory caution to choose words with diligence was as solicitous then as it is now. It is novel advice to speechmakers.
It astonishes that holders of high public offices fail to heed her wisdom. They are also ignorant of a supplication by Psalmist David, “May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my redeemer,” (Psalms 19:14).
Despite many conquests David clinched including one against Goliath, he was sufficiently humble to entreat for proficiency in speech communication. He was prayerful about it. Like David, poet Sexton knew that word choice randomly assembled has severe consequences.
It is disconcerting that the practice of effective speech communication is yet to be inculcated by government and Zanu PF. Given their recent spree of unguarded statements, it is cause for concern that the leadership is fond of making reckless statements.
As the crescendo of the chorus calling on Obert Gutu to resign from the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) rises, the backlash emanating from his speech renders weight to the verity that words, like eggs, must be handled with care.
His portrayal of the Gukurahundi atrocities as a small tiny fraction of issues being dealt with by the NPRC was a cold utterance, bankrupt of contrition on the part of the perpetrators. It shown callous indifference to the victims, reminiscent of the brutality they suffered.
What an inconsiderate utterance! It strikes me as strange that Gutu, a veritable advocate and an accomplished politician, could speak with reckless abandonment. Given the raw nerves he rubbed, the peace-building commission will never know peace unless he resigns.
Despite him being a recent Zanu PF member, the spirit for internal destruction was nonetheless swift to possess him. Although the NPRC chairperson disowned the statement and apologised, the first cut is inevitably the deepest; the damage was already far-reaching.
However, Gutu is not the only cadre to have torched an inferno. A month before his utterance, Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi was at it. His outburst following a High Court ruling which government lost was contemptuous of the court in more ways than one.
He blurted: “I want to make it clear today that we do not accept the decision of the High Court. We have a serious situation of a Judiciary that has been captured by foreign forces in this country.” Hell hath no fury than a Zanu PF cadre determined to ruin from within.
He went on to harangue a judge, accusing him of being anti-President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Yet, he provided no evidence. If the magnitude of contempt he showed and accusations he spewed were made by a yokel like me, that could have been my last day to see daylight.
Due to the prevalence of selective application of justice, Zimbabwe is an apt Animal Farm country, where some animals are more equal than others. There is no remission for commoners as they get arrested even for violation of COVID-19 regulations.
There are no prizes for correctly guessing that whenever acting political commissar Patrick Chinamasa dons the Zanu PF regalia, the seasoned lawyer in him vanishes. It gives way to a headlong torrent of outbursts. His speeches quickly wear thin owing to insolence.
His recent statement in which he bragged about the camaraderie between Zanu PF and the military is damaging for democracy and sound governance.
Ordinarily,the military, like all other State institutions, owe allegiance to the constitution, not to a political party.
His Excellency, sadly, you do not fare any better in the sphere of credibility. Oftentimes you come short on coherence.
A case in point was your call for a commemoration stone at the Hanging Tree in Bulawayo where colonialists are said to have hanged some locals.
At face value, virtues you proffered seemed meritable. Yet, beneath them lied unbridled duplicity. If you were sincere about preservation of history, ideally, your starting point ought have been in some Harare streets where the said Second Republic slain nationals.
If the three cadres whose speeches I referenced were self-respecting, they could have resigned in the immediacy of their insolent speeches. Their defiance repels investment prospects. Surprisingly, they were spared the inevitability of dismissals.
Granted, the appointment of Shava was an encompassing moral deficiency. It was not savoury. It compounds the reputational challenges dogging government.
Furthermore, speeches by the leadership, yourself included, are confirmation that Zany PF is ruinous.
His Excellency, the President, I implore you to stem the tide, head on. As I see it, redoubtable adversaries of investment are within the leadership of your party and government, not MDC leader Nelson Chamisa whom you condemn. Apparently, the dearth of credibility warrants your remediation, now.
- Cyprian Muketiwa Ndawana is a public speaking coach, motivational speaker and speechwriter. He writes in his personal capacity.
