IF there was any doubt that President Robert Mugabe can steer the country out of the current economic quagmire and the succession fissures that ‘threatened’ to rock his ruling ZANU PF party, events in the past two weeks have been replete with several pointers that show Zimbabwe has a leadership that can dutifully fulfil its electoral promises.
First is the message that seemed to have eluded some comrades in ZANU PF that the continued survival of the revolution can only be achieved if they realise that the enemy fighting Zimbabwe and the party is not from within.
That is the reason why comrades took up arms to fight for their country.
That is also why the common enemy is the West and its local surrogate, the MDC.
Understandably, jostling for positions is a common phenomenon in any institution but that should never derail the revolution.
In the same vein, comrades should never lose focus of the job that needs to be done as we march towards the 2018 harmonised elections.
What happened during the youth and women conferences should be a sobering reminder to all those in ZANU PF that one slip can reawaken the dead MDC and pose even more problems for the ruling party going into the future.
The December congress should be alien to the minor problems that characterised these conferences.
In case some have forgotten, the chilling and inexcusable aberrations by former United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Chester Crocker that Uncle Sam was working on a programme to isolate President Mugabe and ZANU PF from the people of Zimbabwe they should read the following statement.
“To separate the Zimbabwe people from that man Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF we are going to have to make their economy scream, and I hope you Senators have the stomach for what you have to do,” said Crocker while calling for the annihilation of the Zimbabwe economy by imploring the US Senate to impose sanctions in September 2001.
Now it is not the economy being used to achieve this goal but gluttonous love for power.
Secondly, was the announcement last week by the country’s President that one of the key targets of Government economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim ASSET), Food Security and Nutrition had been achieved.
Officially opening the 104th Harare Agricultural Show in Harare, President Mugabe revealed that Zimbabweans will this year have abundant food on the table.
“We are glad that our maize and grain production is set to surpass 1,4 million tonnes, enough to ensure national food self-sufficiency. For the first time after many years of drought, Zimbabwe has now attained this level of production,” said President Mugabe.
“Tobacco production also continued on an upward trend, now being valued at over US$676 million from 167 million kilogrammes realised during the 2012-2013 season.
“Generally, cotton, sugar and horticultural crops did slightly better than in the last season. Overall crop production is much more improved this season. We hope this trend will continue.”
With the attainment of this goal which has been used by the country’s detractors to admonish Harare for embarking on massive land indigenisation programmes on the turn of the millennium, ZANU PF has already put in motion its machinery for an assured victory in the 2018 elections.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is on record that President Mugabe is demonised by the West because of the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme which wrought about the illegal economic sanctions that have hit the country hard.
While President Mugabe was making this announcement, embattled opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, probably with hindsight was scratching the surface and conceding defeat in the 2018 elections.
Tsvangirai who is still smarting from an embarrassing electoral defeat in the July 31, 2013 harmonised elections and a party torn apart by serious infighting was hallucinating, saying an Israeli ‘shadowy’ Information Technology Consultancy firm Nikuv was already laying the ground to ‘rig’ the 2018 polls.
Before Zimbabweans had finished digesting the good news of abundant food on their tables, we woke up on Tuesday to the news that Harare had sealed nine mega deals with Beijing.
These deals will further consolidate the implementation of Zim ASSET and set the tone for yet another ZANU PF electoral victory.
As the country’s leading weekly newspaper, The Sunday Mail, noted in its editorial comment this week, the signing of these deals is confirmation that Zimbabwe is an investment destination of choice and a mark of President Mugabe’s visionary leadership.
“Remember some worried US researchers at AidData recently revealed that China has pumped over US$75 billion on aid and development projects to Africa over the past decade,” reads The Sunday Mail’s editorial comment in part.
“With regards to Zimbabwe, China according to its Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Lin Lin, has pumped about US$1,1 billion into projects in the country.
“By the time the President returns back home, that figure would have shot up and the frowning economy will soon smile.
“And we go back to that question again — if China pumps a few billions into the country’s economy, what exactly does that mean?
“It means the Look East Policy which President Mugabe pioneered in Africa is bearing fruits and that definitely should worry opposition puppets to the marrow.”
As the process to revive the economy, it is also important for ZANU PF to keep its eye on the ball and focus on the forthcoming election.
Victory is indeed certain.
Let those with ears listen.