OF ZANU PF SPONSORED GHOST DEFECTIONS LURED BY EMOLUMENTS AND CELEBRATED BY THE RECENTLY BRANDED AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA TELEVISION.

None of Zanu pf strategies have worked nor will they work for the foreseeable future. The reason is fundamentally simple. Zanu pf lacks a solid comprehensive grasp of strategy. From the liberation struggle Zanu pf failed to win decisively on the battle field to its subsequent strategies, ill thought at that, such as a failed Lancaster House negotiation, socialist policies, electoral violence, ethnic cleansing, command agriculture or ZimAsset, the current Zanu pf strategy of parading ghost defections are abortive and bound to fail, spectacularly.

Desperation is the mother of lack of innovation, and thus of failure. Hoping to lure an electorate which is increasingly becoming politically aware and unresponsive to Zanu pf propaganda subjected to a media repressed society is one source of such desperation. Instead of informing the public of what must have been its achievements, had Zanu pf instituted political reforms, been accountable, transparent, restored rule of law, and pre-empted conflation of the criminal party and the now paralyzed state, Zanu pf would not have resorted to the ghost parading of touts and artisanal miners, using the recently branded Auxillia Mnangagwa Television.

This article is aware of diverse backgrounds of those who will read it, as such it does not assume that everyone is a Christian. As such, that is not grounds for not consulting the bible for some concrete wisdom. There is a piece of the scripture which is enlightening in the sense that it is commanding for any, susceptible to wisdom, to first look in their eye for a log of wood logged there, before investing their focus on a small piece of wood occupying their brother’s eye. Zanu pf, being the full of we -know -it -all party of ignorance, showed disdain for this piece of conventional wisdom. Zanu pf has no merit thus, nor legitimate authority of talking of an alleged small piece of wood in the rhetorical opposition’s eye, supposedly responsible for the woes bedevilling the country. Rather, it should focus on the log in its own eye, solely responsible for the political economy stalemate that is gradually hurtling the country to eventual status of state failure. It is this shocking deficiency of self-reflective audit on the part of Zanu pf to take stock of its failures which it cannot remedy, making it assume that ghost defections will divert the attention of increasingly becoming politically informed population from issues such as the humanitarian crisis punctuated by food insecurity or unemployment.

Parading of ghost defections, a futile and childish strategy will not fix the economic macroeconomic fundamentals that desperately need fixing, nor will it have the needed consequence of having much needed credit lines opened. So why then this strategy? Zanu pf erroneously assumes that this will portray a picture of decimated opposition, as such, realize its long sick dream of ultimate one party state supported by a pliant and sycophantic opposition embodied in the form of the Mwonzora Frankenstein party.

Having done a well-known cost benefit analysis concerning reforms, Zanu pf chickened from implementing reforms and resorted to cheap and futile attempts whose utility was to preserve power illegitimately, while at the same time it evaded being transparent and accountable for its untoward profligacy and corruption. As means of shielding itself from the political uncertainty consequential of the trajectory Zanu pf had adopted, conflation of the criminal party and the state became the means of the said evasion. This allowed for a capture and compromised judiciary, which thus was expected to demonstrate its gratitude by employment of lawfare targeting the opposition members such as Mamombe or Chimbiri who would be exercising their constitutional rights such as the right to assembly. Parading of ghost defections hence is a futile attempt of hoping that a band aid would be adequate to deal with a bullet wound. A succinct demonstration of lack of reality comprehension, by delusional Zanu pf, which has evolved to be representative of failure.

Some might argue that there is lack of political will for Zanu pf to implement political reform, but that would be an erroneous and dangerous assumption. For there to be lack of will is admission of mere absence of will, countenanced by desire for the will which is deficient. Zanu pf has neither the will nor the desire for implementing reforms, for it is well aware of the ramifications. For one, reforms mean Zanu pf would promptly stop blowing and playing at its own trumpet through media repression. The media for instance would be liberalized, leading to a more politically informed population which would see Zanu pf legitimately being deprived of power and subsequent peaceful transition of power by the opposition, which has huge implications. Of the implications giving Zanu pf sleepless nights should this deprivation of power occur as a consequence of reforms, rule of law would be restored, the sanctity of the constitution maintained in addition to adherence of fundamental constitutional liberties of which a fully functional constitution is custodian of. This is further compounded by the uncertainty that would extent to the illegally plundered wealth by Zanu pf through primitive accumulation and among other means which ultimately would be restored to the people. Hence, Zanu pf is not actively nor passively interested in instituting political reforms and would rather parade ghost defectors, for it would be depriving itself of power.

Zanu pf would rather compromise national security and sovereignty so longer it aids to its political longevity, preservation and illegitimate power retention. Because Zanu pf is responsible for the now critically ailing and underperforming economy, it needs loans for it to retain power by providing goods to the elites support base, such as top of the range luxury cars for the military brass and traditional chiefs or agriculture equipment for the elites mentioned or other. Because of its one party quest which involved heinous human and property rights targeted against the opposition and minorities, foreign direct investment and lines of credit have been shunning the country as if it is afflicted by a combination of leprosy, Ebola and SARS2. Zimbabwe was effectively isolated. Instead of instituting reforms, which would see restoration of access to credit lines for instance, Zanu pf turned to predatory lenders who availed higher interest loans which Zimbabwe could neither afford let alone pay. This paved way for seizure of strategic national assets, as had happened elsewhere, where desperate countries like Zimbabwe had failed to pay and were subjected to loss of control of national strategic assets, such as Sri Lanka. It is this ignorance and recklessness that is responsible for futile strategies by Zanu pf of attempting to cling to power, despite the consequences, that is, compromised national security and sovereignty, and illogical bypassing of undisputed utility of reforms.

In conclusion, parading of fake defectors by the former national television which recently has been branded to Auxillia Mnangagwa Television is futile and abortive. It shows a lack of depth in the Zanu pf propaganda to which the population is increasingly becoming unresponsive to. This referenced futile strategy is also evasion of consequences accompanying instituted genuine reforms such as restored rule of law, sanctity of the constitution, adherence to fundamental constitution liberties, and the uncertainty posed by such to plundered wealth by Zanu pf and inevitable demands of accountability of all its crimes, when the opposition peacefully transitions into power. For clarity, this strategy of Zanu pf, futile as it is, and like others before it, will fail spectacularly.