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John Mukumbo Correspondent
Reading former Vice President Dr Joice Mujuru’s manifesto called Blueprint to Unlock Investment and Leverage for Development (BUILD) which was unveiled in the private media this week, leaves one with more questions than answers. The former Vice President has shown Zimbabweans that she no longer supports the ideals of the armed struggle in which she fought alongside her departed husband and those who sacrificed their lives for the independence of this country.

Dr Mujuru’s manifesto, which seeks, among other things, to review the land reform programme and give it to “anyone who calls Zimbabwe home,” as well as to review the indigenisation laws, shows that she is no longer a revolutionary par excellence who used to be respected by all Zimbabweans.

Dr Mujuru wants to reverse whatever she planned and also participated in when she was the second-in-charge of both the ruling party Zanu-PF and Government. Her manifesto is anti-black indigenous people as it seeks to undo whatever the ruling party sought to fulfil when it waged the armed struggle.

It is surprising and amazing that the former Vice President could stoop so low as to come up with a document that goes against everything which she used to support when she was both in Government and the ruling party, ZANU PF.

Actually Dr Mujuru has shown the world that she cannot be trusted because she only supports what suits her at a particular time and then opposes it at a later stage.

Dr Mujuru’s BUILD statement is a neo-liberal ideological document premised on promoting free market policies for building a middle class and promoting capital on her social base, making the poor remain as they are.

A document which calls for the uplifting of the middle class, leaving behind the poor, cannot be said to be a saviour on the part of the electorate. Her manifesto is not for poor Zimbabweans, but for those calling the shots in Western countries that used to fund the MDC-T.

People should also understand the fact that Mujuru is now going against what she used to support, which cements her 98 percent disability claim during the war victims compensation exercise. She is someone who is greedy and always seeking to satisfy her needs at any cost.

Her 98 percent disability claim surprised a lot of people, because she was not disabled to that extent, but only looted the War Victims Compensation Fund using her powerful position in both the ruling party and Government. Today people should consider whether such a person, who only wants to satisfy herself with whatever is available, without thinking of the poor is good enough to be a leader.

Dr Mujuru’s behaviour has shown that she cannot be a good leader, because she manipulated those who said she was 98 percent disabled when she knew that she was as fit as a fiddle.

Her behaviour of looting the war victims’s compensation fund using her political position when she knew she was not disabled should alarm anyone who thinks her manifesto could be a saviour.

If she managed to coerce those who were vetting the victims of the armed struggle to award her that percentage, what will stop her from looting more state resources when she becomes the first citizen of this country?

Actually, people should be surprised that someone who sacrificed his/her time fighting the brutality of white people should suddenly come up with a manifesto which is in favour of those whom he/she fought against and forget the plight of the indigenous people.

Why is it that the manifesto dwells more on the “international best practices” that had nothing to do with the plight of the Zimbabwean people, instead of looking at ways that empower them? Dr Mujuru is forgetting that any leader who wants to become the first citizen of this country should look at the plight of the indigenous people for them to trust him/her with their votes.

It is naïve of Dr Mujuru to go against empowerment programmes through her manifesto, yet the world over, the empowerment of indigenous people is what makes a leader respected and exalted by his/her subjects.

Clamouring for international recognition ahead of local recognition is myopic. As such, Dr Mujuru’s manifesto has already been welcomed with cheers and ululation by the known sell-outs of this country.