ON the surface, were familiar faces, the usual vibrancy and the decipherable unity, but beneath was simmering agreement that the ZANU PF of old was back at its best.
The scenes were serene, the mood was exuberant and the language was one.
We are ZANU PF; was the message.
We are back; was the chorus.
In an instant, the script had changed, all for the greater good of both the Party and the country as a whole.
This was the story of the ZANU PF Extraordinary Congress that took place at the Robert Mugabe Square on Friday last week.
From a distance and to those who had written off this Party, Friday was the time to rewrite the strategy book and look forward to a rejuvenated ZANU PF that is set to once again claim its position as the only and serious political Party in the country.
Indeed the tone was set.
And to all those who have discerning eyes, now is the time to watch as ZANU PF does what it knows best, serve the interests of the majority.
Now it is no longer about the politics and politics alone.
It is time for politics with economy.
As President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa wrapped up his closing and acceptance speech, the unanimity was there for everyone to see that ZANU PF is back in the game.
After months of uncertainty, months that were illuminated with shocking deviation from the people’s agenda, all the ills that had been associated with the ruling Party were now a distant memory that has now faded into the horizon of a past, to be forgotten.
A grouping calling itself the Generation 40 (G40), led by the acidic Professor Jonathan Moyo and the bellicose Saviour Kasukuwere had taken over the Party and were threatening to tear it apart.
They chased all revolutionaries and embarked on a looting spree that literally brought the country to its knees.
They crushed all opposing views and reduced war veterans, themselves the roots of the Party, to mere outsiders.
They chased away all progressive youths and women alike.
They disrespected the Party leadership and led from the front as they decimated the Party.
In all this madness, it was the economy that suffered the most.
The founding principles of the Party were desecrated.
The Party was left with no leg or root to stand on.
What was left was just a shell with a few individuals calling themselves ‘loyalists’.
This is what the Extraordinary Congress sought to correct — it did that with aplomb.
In his closing remarks at the Congress, President Mnangagwa thanked delegates for confirming him the new Party leader.
He promised to deliver on the economic front and improve the livelihoods of the majority.
“I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Party as represented by congress delegates here present for confirming as the President and First Secretary of our revolutionary Party and also endorsing me as the Party’s presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2018 Harmonised General Elections,” said President Mnangagwa.
He unveiled an economic plan that will give priority to primary production with a view towards swift economic growth.
The plan also puts emphasis on value addition and industrialisation.
“I am confident that the vast interventions in the agricultural sector will improve our fortunes not only as a country, but, principally, at household level. In the quest to unlock the maximum benefits from our primary products and translate these to dollars in both the national purse and people’s pockets, we are intensifying our efforts in value-addition, beneficiation and industrialisation,” he said.
“Communities and the membership of the party should fully exploit these opportunities as active participants. As a result of various financial facilities from multilateral and bilateral organisations, we are expecting that our industries will be retooled, the National Railways of Zimbabwe revitalised and Harare-Beitbridge Highway dualised.
“In the same vein, we will accelerate implementation of the Special Economic Zones which will attract new foreign investments. The inroads made to date in the mining sector, coupled with untapped potential as well as emerging partnerships, point to the fact that economic recovery is imminent.”
President Mnangagwa revealed that the Presidential Well-Wishers Agricultural Inputs Support Scheme will be expanded to cater for each household that wishes to participate in the programme.
“Government will, through the newly reconstituted Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, ensure that appropriate policy instruments are put in place to support all categories of farmers; be it A1, A2, resettled or communal farmers; with focus on productivity and maximum utilisation of all agriculture land.
With the anticipated improvement of productivity in cropping, we have put in place measures to increase our harvesting capacity, through the importation of combine harvesters, driers and other agricultural equipment.”
As delegates left for their respective homes, there was no doubt that ZANU PF had once again struck the right chords and now is back to the future.