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Dr Masimba Mavaza
It is not surprising that political parties and pressure groups who are funded by the West have angrily reacted to Zanu PF secretary for administration Cde Obert Mpofu’s declaration that the ruling party will never relinquish power and plans to rule for a long time.

The actual words which unnecessarily angered these people were: “We are going to be in power for a very long time,” said Cde Mpofu. “We are not going to surrender power. We will always be the governing party.”

It is not surprising that these assurances to the party faithfuls have infuriated some people, including opposition parties who are now having a spin and say the comments were meant to threaten the citizens and discouraging them from registering to vote.

The biggest problem is not in what Cde Mpofu said, but what the brainless interpreters are saying.
People must not be deaf and blind to the fact that the words of Cde Mpofu are found offensive only by those who are clamouring for a regime change.

The opposition and some British MPs said the words of Cde Mpofu are feeble attempt to discourage Zimbabweans from registering to vote.

What we must understand is that Cde Mpofu is talking on behalf of the party, not Government. He speaks of his party, exploring an occasion in order to prop up and credit the party.

Cde Mpofu spoke as a party cadre. He is a manager of his party.

In saying Zanu PF will be in power for a long time, Cde Mpofu meant we work hard to make sure Zanu PF wins.

In his statement, Cde Mpofu uses the evidence of Zanu PF’s victorious past since 1980.
Over the years, we have been resilient and built a way to remain in power because the opposition is not ready, it’s like a worm, it divides and sub-divides. It is fragile and not strong.

By not relinquishing power, Cde Mpofu casts his eyes in future and sees no opposition ready to rule.
In Cde Mpofu’s life time and your life time, there will be no change of political hands in Zimbabwe.
Seeing the opposition making noise about the encouraging statement by Cde Mpofu, one wonders as to what kind of pettiness the opposition has become.

Cde Mpofu is a manager of the winning boxer. He talks his mind.

Before we go into Cde Mpofu’s language and choice of words, it must be made clear that there is an ongoing campaign by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to make people aware of registering to vote.

Zanu PF has no reason whatsoever to be afraid of registering people to vote.

The one man one vote system was brought to Zimbabwe powered by the blood of each Zimbabwean who died for this cause.

Zanu PF is the only party in Zimbabwe which fought and won for democracy.

It introduced one man one vote rule and every five years since 1980, Zanu PF has defended that right with working for the people to win elections.

No one on earth should tell Zanu PF about democracy and human rights. The country will never be safe without Zanu PF.

So, the sentiments displayed by Cde Mpofu are not words of fear, but the truth and what he believes.
In other words, Cde Mpofu was simply saying: “We are in it to win it.”

Surely, any leader of a political party wishes to rule forever. Expressing your desire openly and freely cannot be described as threat.

We know Cde Mpofu, who has been Minister of Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Industry and International Trade, Minister of Mines and Mining Development; and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development.

He was reappointed as Minister of Home Affairs in President Mnangagwa’s first Cabinet on 30 November 2017.

Cde Mpofu is now serving his party, Zanu PF, on full time basis as the secretary of administration.
Like a coach of a team, it is not a taboo to encourage your members by saying the team will always win.
Always winning is the reason why the party remains in power and why it participates in every election.

It is not wrong to assure your supporters and members that Zanu PF will be in power for a long time.
In 2015, a British newspaper, The Guardian, wrote about the Tories plans to be the ruling party forever.

“Since the Conservatives’ narrow election victory, they have been quietly reshaping the political system to give them a permanent advantage. Will any other party be able to challenge their dominance in future?” the paper wrote.

Andy Beckett, the American biographer of Lyndon Johnson, the United States President half a century ago, had dinner and answered questions from Osborne and selected Conservative MPs.

Johnson was a Democrat, and one of America’s most left-leaning leaders.

But he was also famously ruthless. “I do understand power, whatever else may be said about me. I know where to look for it, and how to use it,” he said.

This statement was never taken as outrageous because it was being said by an American close to the President.

Everyone in politics, including the opposition, is even more interested in power than most politicians.
Nelson Chamisa is one person who is angling for a power grab no matter how he does it. The CCC grand strategy is the calculated use of presumed violence to alter Zimbabweans permanently in the CCC favour.

The sanctions against Zimbabwe based on seemingly inflammatory statements could make a huge difference to the capacity of opposition parties to operate at a level which gives them chance to wrestle power from Zanu PF.

Chamisa and his CCC and their front runner Hopewell “Hopeless” Chin’ono are fully aware that new sanctions could make a huge difference to the capacity of Zanu PF to operate freely even though it is in power.

To realise their aim, the opposition now seeks to use anything and everything to portray Zimbabwe as a Pariah state.

The purpose of political parties is seen in the fact that Zimbabwe is a parliamentary democracy with various political parties.

Political parties are part of a parliamentary democracy. The candidates are members of political parties. Citizens vote for the party of their choice and, in this way, influence government policy.

The party comes to existence for the sole aim to be in power. Considering that power is the ultimate goal for any political party, the party in power must do everything legal and reasonable to remain in power forever while those in opposition must find legal and political opinions to remain in power.

This is what every serious politicians must aim to do.

For anyone to castigate Cde Mpofu because he wishes to achieve the goal of his party is total madness.
The opposition must be ashamed by such utterances. It is a shame that the opposition has already approached the British MPs to lobby for more sanctions against Zimbabwe citing the speech by Cde Mpofu.

The reason for such an outcry is that the opposition is already building a case so that when they lose in 2023 as they will use these statements for their fight against electoral results.

Their aim is to portray Zimbabwe as a violent, intolerant country which will never gives democracy a chance. This planning by the CCC is the act of treason and a way of destabilising the peaceful nation of Zimbabwe.

A political party brings together people with the same political ideas. By taking part in an election, parties hope to get as many of their members as possible into a representative body, like Parliament or a municipal council.

At the same time, they try to hold as many posts as possible in the government, or in the municipal or provincial executive.

Political parties have various functions. One is promoting the interests of their voters. They also draw up party programmes.

Citizens can join political parties, enabling them to help shape the party programme. For citizens to join a party they must know that it is not a game, but a way of life which is permanent.

Citizens need to know that their party of choice does not intend to give up power very fast. So, Cde Mpofu does not see his party losing very soon.

That is why he assures cadres that they will be in power with power for a very long time.

Under the terms of the Electoral Act, anyone in Zimbabwe can found a political party. Political parties wishing to participate in an election can contact ZEC for more information.

A political party which intends to lose will not be taken serious.

Cde Mpofu takes his party seriously and his statement is very correct that Zanu PF will be in power for a very long time.

It must be known that a political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country’s elections.

It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals.

The members of political parties coordinate to collectively achieve and use political power.
Many political parties are motivated by ideological goals.

Opposition parties must always aim to: contribute to the creation of policy and legislation through constructive criticism, not demonising Zanu PF or picking on petty issues.

The opposition must learn to oppose government proposals they disagree with and put forward their own policies in order to improve their chances of winning the next general election.

Unfortunately, CCC instead uses their parrots like Hopewell Chin’ono to present Zimbabwe as an autocratic, despotic outfit.

Staying in power is a sign of success for any political party. If a politician boldly states the intentions of his party, he is not threatening.

Of course, there are those who are threatened merely by the name Zanu PF.

Political parties are essential institutions of democracy. By competing in elections, parties offer citizens a choice in governance, and while in opposition they can hold governments accountable.

When citizens join political parties, volunteer their time, donate money and vote for their leaders, they are exercising their basic democratic rights.

Participation of citizens in political parties offers unique benefits, including opportunities to influence policy choices, choose and engage political leaders, and run for office.

However, the opposition in Zimbabwe does not respect the rights of citizens to participate and is not accountable to voters, it is accountable to the West.

That is why they rushed to report Cde Mpofu to Kate Hoey and a litany of British MPs.
Unlike these foreign supported parties, Zanu PF supports the development of vibrant, accountable and inclusive multiparty systems that offer citizens meaningful choices and opportunities for political participation.

Zanu PF, with its administration, is overseen by Cde Mpofu and has a lot of work which includes knowledge and resource sharing, and aims to expand the participation of marginalized groups including: women, youth, ethnic and racial minorities, persons with disabilities, and gender and other minorities.

Zanu PF’s assistance reaches across party organizations, from grassroots party members to mid-level party officials and senior party leaders and all Zimbabweans.

The party also facilitates constructive engagement between political parties and other institutions, such as civil society, the media and election management bodies.

Cde Mpofu stands for continuance, hence his statement that Zanu PF will continue in power for a long time to come.

Those castigating Cde Mpofu must remember that political parties perform an important task in government.

The basic purpose of political parties is to nominate candidates for public office and to get as many of them elected as possible.

Once elected, these officials try to achieve the goals of their party through legislation and programme initiatives, not through sanctions.

In turn, elected officials must not only reflect the concerns of their own political party, but must also try to attract support from people in their districts or provinces who belong to the other parties.
They do so by stating their goals in a general way so that voters are attracted to a broad philosophy without necessarily focusing on every specific issue.

On this basis, Cde Mpofu is fully correct when he persuades voters and encourages members by telling them that Zanu PF will be in office for a long time.

One must remember that whether they are CCC or anything, whether they are a union of notables or an organization of the masses, whether they function in a pluralistic democracy or in a monolithic dictatorship, parties have one function in common: they all participate to some extent in the exercise of political power, whether by forming a government or by exercising the function of opposition, a function that is often of crucial importance in the determination of national policy.

Political parties are out for power. So it is expected that once they get the power, they must intend to keep it.

It will not be proper for any party to have power and give it up. Zanu PF has power on behalf of the people.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong in Cde Mpofu telling people that Zanu PF will rule for a long time.
It will rule as long as people of Zimbabwe say so.

Zanu PF is not controlled by CCC or the CCC handlers in the West or elsewhere. It does not surprise anyone why CCC and Chief Ndiweni rushed to Kate Hoey to complain about Cde Mpofu’s utterances.
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