THE ruling Zanu PF party has laid the groundwork to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure to 2030.
Mnangagwa’s constitutionally-mandated two terms end in 2028.
The veteran politician has thrice said he intended to rest at the end of his tenure.
That the party is plunging headlong with the extension of the tenure when the man said he is not interested defies logic.
It’s either party loyalists are setting him up to fail or the man has been charmed by the “overwhelming” support from the party's rank and file and has no option but to hang on.
If the plan sails through, given Zanu PF’s confidence, it means Mnangagwa will be 88 by the end of his extended tenure in 2030.
The tragedy of the 2030 push is that the youths are singing louder, eclipsing their elders for the status quo to be maintained.
They don’t see themselves as leaders but pursuers of selfish ends.
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Tied to Mnangagwa’s longevity in office is the extension of the retirement age for civil servants to 70.
It means those that are supposed to rest can continue in office for the next five years.
Mnangagwa recently extended the tenure of Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Valerio Sibanda by a year.
The youths, touted as the future leaders, are told to be patient as their time will come.
For the old men and women, it appears it is their time to partake in the gravy train as a reward for fighting for the liberation of the country. For a small clique, they are reaping the benefits of playing a key role in ushering in the second republic.
The tragedy is that those at the tail end of their flirtation on mother earth are charting the future of the youths.
Do they know what the youths want? Are they the best to determine the future of the youth? They are not, as they belong to the analogue era in a digitally-driven world.
The youth are told to follow gwara remusangano (the party’s ideology) or be patient as their time will come.
Senegal is cruising under the leadership of a “youth”, 44-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye who was elected to the west African country’s top post last year.
A Sudanese-British billionaire is on record saying Africa needs young leaders who are energetic to be able to tackle the challenges besetting the continent.
"We are the only continent where we have a President at 90 years starting a new term. Are you crazy or not? We see old people in wheelchairs unable to raise their hands standing for election. This is a joke,” he said amid thunderous applause at an African Development Bank event in 2014.
“You are right to laugh; the whole world is laughing at us. We pick people in the 90s to lead us. To lead us where? To the grave?”
The challenges facing the continent in general and Zimbabwe in particular requires energetic leaders that think outside the box and are not handcuffed to the past of “we fought in the war”.
