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Nduduzo Tshuma, Political Editor
Zanu-PF is in the process of receiving CVs from prospective candidates interested in contesting in the party’s primary elections ahead of the national polls and the need to rally behind credible individuals cannot be over emphasised.

With Zanu-PF confident of winning the polls with a landslide margin having been boosted by the ushering in of a new administration under President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year who will also be the presidential candidate in the polls, it is important for the party to provide leadership that will complement his efforts towards the turn-around of the country’s fortunes.

The new dispensation under President Mnangagwa offers the party a golden opportunity to bring forward the calibre of leaders that would walk in step with the President in restoring Zimbabwe to its former glory days.

In line with the message by the President that the party is moving on by abandoning the bad politics of the previous era and only taking the good parts, it is important that Zanu-PF provides leadership that shares a similar vision to cement their reputation as the only party that genuinely carries the aspirations of the people.

Patronage is one of the evils that affected Zanu-PF under Mr Mugabe with the formation of retrogressive forces in the mould of the G40 cabal fronted by the former First Lady Grace Mugabe to push narrow and selfish political interests.

It was refreshing when President Mnangagwa, while officially opening the Zanu-PF extra ordinary congress in Harare last December, discouraged the singing of praise songs to glorify him but instead urged the party members to sing the national anthem and the all embracing liberation songs.

“The role you have given me and the office you have inserted me into, can never be partitioned to anyone. The praise song I desire, if you were to sing one, is that of our national anthem and those from the liberation struggle not for myself, no. If you sing the national anthem, if you sing those national songs then me and you are together,” said President Mnangagwa.

He further went on to call for Zanu-PF to move ahead in enforcing unity among the people with one goal of serving the masses, reiterating that he was President for all Zimbabweans.

The President said the ruling party enjoys a special relationship with the people dating back to the days of the liberation struggle. “This fact of Zanu-PF’s special status and standing as the party of national liberation makes it a national heritage and courier of a national legacy and above all, a definer of our country’s future,” he said.

“Thus, Zanu-PF as the governing party makes and requires it to be a national home for all.

“It must also be an instrument available for a national purpose and destiny. Zanu-PF can therefore, not exclude, divide or fragment, nor be allowed to sag or succumb for lack of foresighted leadership.”

One inescapable fact is that Zanu-PF before the ushering in of a new dispensation carried with it a lot of baggage in terms of officials whose relevance stemmed from patronising the former President and his wife Grace.

Such officials were at the forefront in tearing Zanu-PF apart as they had no mandate from the people but existed as an extension of the former First Family and its interests.

Some appointments were not made from consideration of expertise but the ability to carry the aspirations of a cabal pursuing selfish interests.

It is the very cabal of political green horns that purged veterans of the struggle outside Zanu-PF in a bid to replace them with minnows with no connection to the principles of the revolutionary party.

The timely intervention of the security forces through Operation Restore Legacy, Zanu-PF and the general public averted the destruction of the country by the blood thirsty cabal gave the country serious prospects towards recovery. But much damage had been done already, damage that needs final redress in the completion of the Zanu-PF reinvigoration process through the selection of credible representatives.

The rejuvenated Zanu-PF under President Mnangagwa should be completed and complemented by sound leadership who will not only appreciate the President’s vision but also walk the talk with him.

Some politicians from the old era had become accustomed to patronising the former first family which they then used as a shield from criticism by the masses. They became lazy officials, abandoning the people to become willing vessels to attack fellow party members and even senior leaders.

In this part of the country, such statements as “ngithunywe ngu President” or “Umama Mugabe uthe” became popular lines by mischievous politicians to cow the people into submission in the execution of their dirty and destructive politics.

These were the politicians with an exaggerated sense of entitlement with the misplaced belief that they could do anything they wanted as long as it had been okayed by the Mugabes.

The polls come as an opportunity for Matabeleland also to provide sound leadership that would eclipse irritant and separatist movements as well as clowns in the opposition parties that have sprouted in recent years and continue to get needless attention in some quarters.

Some politicians like Professor Jonathan Moyo, who were facing criminal charges, were “acquitted” by Mrs Mugabe at rallies instead of having their days in court as per the requirements of the law.

Some officials were dramatically released from police holding cells by former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko as the courts played second fiddle to political patronage in the execution of justice.

This is the kind of behaviour that has been discouraged by President Mnangagwa from the day he assumed office as President of Zimbabwe.

The President is on record saying that his Government would not consider friendship or kinship in its fight against corruption as no one is above the law.

“In fighting corruption, we don’t have friends. It’s each man for himself. I’m happy that most of the people in the leadership accept the concept of fighting corruption,” said President Mnangagwa addressing Zimbabweans based in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.

President Mnangagwa has since his inauguration also highlighted that his leadership is accountable to the people as it belongs to the people, moving away from the old culture of untouchable and connected politicians who did nothing but bring the country to ruin.

With the opposition in sixes and sevens, the 2018 elections becomes that last phase of restoring legacy in both party and country through the selection of representatives with the single goal of taking the country forward.