Editorial Comment: End infighting, focus on development Mr Saviour Kasukuwere

The decision by Zanu-PF to allow suspended Members of Parliament and Senators to attend Provincial Coordinating Committees meetings is a welcome development. The party’s Political Commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere said the party’s position was that MPs and Senators should be allowed to attend PCC meetings.

There has been confusion regarding the participation of suspended MPs and Senators at these meetings.

At one time police had to be called in at a PCC meeting in Matabeleland South to eject suspended members who were refusing to leave the meeting. Some of the suspended provincial executive members are not just MPs or Senators but are cabinet Ministers.

Cde Kasukuwere said the suspended MPs and Senators will attend the meetings but will not hold positions until their cases are dealt with. Zanu-PF as a political party has its own ways of dealing with disciplinary issues but what has to be appreciated is that the MPs and Senators were elected into office by the people who expect to be served. It is this realisation, we want to believe, which has prompted the party leadership to allow the people’s representatives to attend these crucial PCC meetings.

It is at the PCC meetings that progress in implementing government development programmes are reviewed.

Zanu-PF as the ruling party has come up with short and long term development plans which must be implemented by government. The party which won resoundingly the 2013 harmonised elections, made a number of promises to the electorate which is now looking forward to these promises being fulfilled.

The party at its various levels starting from ward to district and then provincial level, should therefore be seized with the party’s programme of action.

The party structures should constantly be reviewing progress and reports from the districts are supposed to be tabled at the PCC meetings hence the importance of the elected MPs and Senators to attend such meetings.

The party’s thrust after its 6th National People’s Congress held last December should be to implement development programmes. People want their livelihoods to be improved and this is only possible if the government implements empowerment programmes.

It is pleasing to note that the government has realised that for years people have not benefited fully from their natural resources hence it initiated the Community Ownership Share Scheme whereby companies exploiting resources in a given area cede 10 percent of their shares to communities. The money from the shares is then used to fund development projects such as construction of schools, clinics and bridges. Such government initiatives demand that people have a shared vision.

We therefore want to implore the Zanu-PF party leadership to speed up its disciplinary processes so that people can focus on development as one united people.

Councillors, traditional leaders such as chiefs and their headmen, the MPs, Senators and party leaders should work as a team in implementing government programmes. The infighting which has been witnessed in the past should be a thing of the past.

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