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Minister Sekeramayi

Former liberation war fighter and Minister of Defence Dr Sydney Sekeramayi (SS) is a veteran politician who has held various Cabinet positions including that of Minister of State Security. He is also the current Secretary for War Veterans in the zanu-pf Politburo. In a no-holds- barred interview with our Senior Writer, Lovemore Ranga Mataire (LRM) , Dr Sekeramayi talks about challenges being faced by former liberation movements, the state of zanu-pf and the way forward.

L.R.M: Dr Sekeramayi, you are the Minister of Defence and also the Zanu-PF Secretary for War Veterans in the Politburo. Given your portfolios, I think you are the ideal candidate to speak about peace and security issues in the region and the challenges affecting former liberation movements in the region. In your view, what is the crux of the challenges facing former liberation parties in the region and how can they be remedied?
SS: There are various challenges affecting us as former liberation movements but, in my view, we need to make sure that the social-economic standard of our people improves day by day. Whether it is education, health, infrastructure, roads and railways, power generation across the board, we must be able to look at ourselves with pride and say this is what we are doing as leaders, as a people for our country.

Yes, the former colonial power and the various other groups that were exploiting our resources have never been happy that we are independent. They did everything in their power politically, diplomatically, militarily to deny us our nationhood.

They owned vast tracks of land, they owned the mineral resources underground, and so they are not happy with us, they have never been happy with us. They are in a permanent fight with us to negate what we are trying to do for the benefit of our people and hence the relentless attacks on the leadership of the country, the President and his members of Cabinet and the Politburo. The relentless attack on us to try and reverse the gains of the liberation struggle.

L.R.M: How do you respond to those who say the leadership is collectively failing to be good stewards of the same liberation struggle heritage you valorise? Others even say that you must return the country where you got it.
SS: They are able to say so because Zimbabwe is not independent? If Zimbabwe was not independent, they would not have the freedom to say such kind of rubbish. So for anybody to totally take a position to say get us back to colonialism, to try and even glorify colonialism is really very despicable.

But they are people who can say or make such statements in a reckless way, but I don’t think even themselves deep down in their hearts and minds they believe that is something that can be true.

L.R.M: You have talked about the relentless onslaught on the country’s leadership by our erstwhile colonisers. What are you doing as the leadership not just to rebut such attacks but to ensure that people understand the liberation struggle is sacrosanct?
SS: What should happen is for us to continue to be as patriotic as we were during the liberation struggle and unite so that whatever problems we have we are able to solve them collectively. Here and there, you may get differences of approach but there is a greater bond that puts us together than minor differences of opinion. So it is extremely important that we remain focused on the national goals of making sure that we are able to improve the socio-economic life of our people.

L.R.M: How is the goal of unity achievable in the context of some of your colleagues within liberation movements being accused of having sold out to the former colonisers?
SS: Yes, there is a possibility. You can’t rule out infiltration. Various forces will attack us from outside while others will try to infiltrate and attack us from inside but if we remain focused that will fail. We must always make sure that the machinations of the enemy don’t succeed and this is why I was saying there is a lot that unites us. Liberation movements must remain vigilant so that we are able to identify infiltrators and take measures to negate their attempt to destroy us.

It is also important to be able to make a correct diagnosis of what the problem is. If you see a young boy with a big stomach, don’t say that little boy, who is five years old, looks like his sekuru who is a businessman. No. Mwana anenge achirwara nekwashi. So we need to give a correct diagnosis in order to give or to come with correct treatment or correct solution. If we are unable to make a proper scientific analysis and proper diagnosis, then we may not be able to cure the malaises which sometimes affect liberation movements.

L.R.M: As the Minister of Defence what can you say is the state of peace and security in the region? I ask this in the context of numerous demonstrations in South Africa, disturbances in Lesotho and the perennial problem of Renamo in Mozambique?
SS: In terms of peace and security, I think I can say one of the most important aspects of our life in Zimbabwe is the peace that we enjoy. It is not possible to quantify it but Zimbabweans are generally living in a peaceful country. There may be attempts here and there to disturb that peace and we should always be fully alert so that those attempts don’t succeed.

We must remain a united country and all our citizens must be able to enjoy freedom and be able to move freely around Zimbabwe at any time of the day without fearing that here and there you might be victimised by bandits or some other lawless elements. We have peace in the country and we need to commit ourselves to maintain this peace that is prevailing in the country.

L.R.M: Accusations are that revolutionary parties like Zanu-PF seem now more obsessed with the personal fights for power instead of pursing the collective goals you have alluded to. How true is the assertion that instability within liberation movements has the potential of destabilising national security?
SS: Ndopandiri kuti issue (that’s why I am saying we) need to remain focused and our focus should concentrate on building the economy of the country. Everyone who was involved in the struggle, everyone who had a relative or friend and others who died were all fighting for our liberation, were all fighting to have an economy that we are proud of and be grateful to God for giving us gold, platinum, diamonds, lithium and we are using them for the benefit of our people. Izvi zvekuti masimba apa nepapa, there are obviously structures laid down in the constitution of the ANC, Zanu-PF, MPLA, Swapo about how that is done and let’s just do it correctly and make sure that we don’t get subverted in the process.

L.R.M: What, in your view, do you think will be Zanu-PF’s legacy 20 years from now?
SS: Even now people remember the revolutionary party because they know it is the party that brought liberation. Right now, let’s get ourselves being able to say to the nation, let’s create structures and an environment that makes it possible to grow the economy so that our children and future generations are fully employed.

Let us commit ourselves that the infrastructure we have – roads, railways – are in good shape. They are working effectively. Let’s strive to make sure that our health delivery system is in tip-top condition so that our people are able to go and receive medical attention in Zimbabwe by Zimbabwean specialists and that anyone who has an ailment is confident that he or she goes to a Government hospital and the Government hospital is a centre of excellence with everything you need to make sure that the health system is in good shape. We must also ensure that our education system is the best and is able to deliver to our people. But all this requires clear focus; clear targets and requires that we move in a direction that will bear the fruits that I am talking about.

The other thing that I think is good is to be just straightforward as possible in whatever we do.

L.R.M: Can you explain further? Are you saying that there are some within former liberation movements who appear crooked and not straightforward?
SS: If we managed to defeat these negative forces during the war then I believe we can still vanquish them. But what is necessary is to be honest. Don’t say mwana ane zidumbu akafanana nasekuru vake vane shop pagrowth point. Mwana anenge achitorwara nekwashi. We must be honest and identify objectively what the problems are. Totaurira kuti these are the problems and they way to solve them is this way.

L.R.M: Are us suggesting that comrades are not being open and candid to each other in identifying the sources of problems within revolutionary movements?
SS: Oh yeah, I say we need to be honest to each other and sit down and iron out all the sticking issues. Not solving problems through fighting each other but solving by putting together our minds and efforts in a positive way. The problems need to be resolved in a way that sustains our revolution.