Zanu PF internecine wars: A distraction from the real problems!

By Kenneth Mufuka | 5h ago

In the book entitled, The Art of War, by the Chinese genius, Sun Tzu, a master strategist is he who distracts his opponent to concentrate on useless tasks, while leaving important matters unattended.

The instructions were very clear. “Ken, how do you view the internecine wars going on between Zanu PF wings?”

In the book entitled, The Art of War, by the Chinese genius, Sun Tzu, a master strategist is he who distracts his opponent to concentrate on useless tasks, while leaving important matters unattended.

While internecine battles within Zanu PF are juicy, in the long run they are a distraction from matters that affect the lives of Zimbabweans.

Allow me here to use a professor’s jargon. The battle about whether Mukuru (ED as he is lovingly referred to) extends his term in office by two years (till 2030) or whether CC (lovingly referred to as the Generari) prevents such an appropriation of the constitution is what professors call not a serious argument.

ED’s spokesperson, Brother Chris Mutsvanga says that “the people,” having seen the mighty works by Mukuru, are resolved that he stays in office for an extended period.

Chris’s own popularity, challenged at the war veterans association, was backed by 11 votes out of 450 veterans in attendance.

It was Sir Winston Churchill who said that if a man chooses to represent himself in court, he has nobody but a fool for a lawyer.

To employ Chris as one’s attorney is to muddy the waters.

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Patrick Chinamasa and Chris himself have attested that Mukuru has denied such an ambition (Mutare speech). The matter should be allowed to rest there.

Given the facts above, the 2030 mantra is not a serious argument. We leave that for now to tackle another issue that involves the great George Charamba, deputy secretary and presidential spokesperson.

Joji is the Bishop Talleyrand of Zimbabwe

Joji is the Talleyrand of Zimbabwe. Bishop Talleyrand was a master of changing colours when he knew that a government was coming to an end and offering his services to the incoming administration.

In this matter, I had to consult my longtime friend, Fabian Mabaya, the wisest man among the war veterans.

When freed from Ian Smith’s jailhouse (1978) Fabian, a mathematician, abandoned politics, in the belief that one must have a trade by which to provide for his children and family, rather than to rely on “giveaways” (now called presidential inputs) to feed one’s family.

He acquired so many certificates in accounting that he has to wear some of them behind his butt (black English).

Fabian advised me to read Joji’s history during Robert Mugabe’s downfall (2017).

There I discovered that Joji is a master apparatchik, a chameleon, who serves himself rather than his master. Joji’s career illustrates the fundamental weakness of Zanu PF.

The party is ruled by a cabal consisting of military and secret service high level personnel. Americans call this the deep state.

The party used to have a think tank (Zipam) but has never followed its advice.

Therefore, policies are half cooked, ineffective, and it is the constant failure of meaningful economic “initiatives,” that leads to factionalism.

Here is an example. In the last days of 2017, I was told by an immigration officer at the airport. “We know you Kenny. Zvinhu zvaipa kuno.

Keep your mouth shut. We want you to go safely back to your home in the US.”

I have a transcript of Joji press conference. The long and short of Joji’s anger was concentrated on a social media called Baba Jukwa.

Jukwa represented “Vapanduki, a group of disgruntled Zanu PF insiders, service chiefs and other civil servants.” Jukwa boasted of 400 000 followers. Joji called him “an enemy of the people” and threatened him (if caught) with unspecified consequences.

Previously (in 2014) Joji, Chris and Jono (assumed to be Moyo) had collaborated in defenestrating vice president Joice Mujuru with her military honours, awarding the downing of a Rhodesian helicopter to Runaida.

I am writing about October 2017. Robert Mugabe had no more loyal servants than Joji.

Now dear reader, you must sit down and drink some water. Joji had sworn to find out the Vapanduki and hang them.

The stars of the show, Joji, Jono, and Chris were all lined up with Sirius, the prince of the heavenly world.

Three weeks later, Robert Mugabe hears over the radio that the great Joji was the spokesperson for ED.

The moral of the story is that if you are in Zanu PF, you must sleep with one eye open. This was not the case in Zapu where I came from.

The real problems

Behind these debates, Zimbabwe is being sold to the Chinese.

My friend Eddie Cross puts the case mildly.

“The Chinese business model is extractive, exporting raw materials to China without beneficiation.

“They buy the majority of our tobacco, our ferrochrome exports run to tens of millions of dollars a year.

“Drive past Hwange Colliery, owned notionally by the Government but in fact now largely a Chinese asset.

“The smoke stacks of coke batteries belching into the atmosphere. The queues of heavy-duty trucks carrying coal to local and regional markets.

“The road north and south now smashed and barely usable.

“There is little or no value addition except for the primary production phase.”

The number 85 000 Chinese is sufficient to colonise the country.

Many tribesmen are finding themselves foreigners in their native land as they are evicted to give way to foreign diggers protected by the Zimbabwe military and police.

Then there is the issue of the ZIG.

I was saddened to hear that Professor Gift Muganu, who made a seven-point negative proposal about the ZiG was run out of the country.

Among the seven points, three points stand out.

Zimbabweans cannot trust the government which refuses its own currency.

Secondly, the Reserve Bank is the main sinner in extra-judiciary ZiG activities.

Thirdly, it does not make sense that Dubai has more Zimbabwean gold than Zimbabwe.

Here is Cross once more:

“China can be used to drive development but it must be on our terms.

"They must employ our people, their investments in infrastructure must serve our nation and not just their interests.

“Our relationship with China must be carefully balanced, they must not be allowed to bribe our officials to secure benefits that are not in our national interests.

“The rape and pillage of our resources for marginal results simply cannot be allowed to continue.”