THE most outstanding lesson from the ongoing March 26 2022 by-election campaigns between ZANU PF and Chamisa’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) is that there is a huge gulf between the ruling party and the opposition, the self-proclaimed paragons of ‘democracy’, ideologies.

While ZANU PF is about the country and people, CCC is firmly steeped in the futile pursuit of a neo-colonial agenda.

It has not therefore come as a surprise that ZANU PF, under the able and astute leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has not only been preaching the ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’ (a country is built by its own people) mantra but has been practising it with notable results.

Chamisa on the other hand, surprised a few in our midst when he launched his campaign on February 20 2022 at the Zimbabwe Grounds with the weird promise that he would need just one week to bring back varungu (whites) when he ‘becomes the country’s president’.

“If you give me one week in office, you will see white people coming in with money, you will see the Chinese coming in with money,” he claimed.

There was nothing new or unusual about that outlandish promise given his unimpeachable track record when it comes to selling false fantasies to his credulous followers.

While Chamisa was at his usual best, exhibiting infantile antics at that rally, emerging, clearly, from that spectacular performance was the age-long saying that the more things change the more they remain the same.

ZANU PF’s ideology is firmly premised on uplifting the masses from colonialism induced poverty, giving them unmitigated access to land and natural resources as well as making them real and true owners of their country.

The ruling party has already achieved this through ongoing economic empowerment initiatives across the country as well as the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme of 2000 which attracted the ire of Chamisa’s Western handlers who imposed and maintained illegal economic sanctions against the country.

To date, Zimbabwe has lost at least US$42 billion in potential revenue as a result of those illegal economic sanctions according to a report that was presented to Cabinet on September 10 2019.

This is where the problem with Chamisa emanates from.

Where the ruling party, bound by its ideology and as seen by its strenuous efforts to uplift the livelihoods of the masses, firstly to address the liberation struggle questions and secondly, to make the people of Zimbabwe proud owners of their land and means of production, Chamisa and his handlers naively believe that whites will ‘save’ Zimbabweans from the economic malaise they created in the first place.

Such naivety is not only provocative and insulting, but is a resounding clarion call for the voter to duly punish the excitable opposition lot in the ballot.

And Chamisa’s infantile posturing at the Zimbabwe Grounds where he frantically sought to associate himself with the country’s liberation struggle through his malicious pontifications that he was fighting for what he bizarrely claimed was the Fourth Chimurenga brutally unravel the ugly underbelly of some post-colonial states.

The post-colonial state has time and again been hampered by the disconcerting belief that it is through the ‘support’ from our erstwhile colonisers that we can climb up the economic empowerment and emancipation ladder.

This imprudent belief is drawn from the West’s modern day siege of relentless propaganda that Africans do not have the capacity to manage both their affairs and economies.

When ZANU PF says we are masters of our destiny, that ideological impetus is not founded on some empty rhetorical truisms.

It is founded and grounded on realities on the ground.

Realities which are manifesting themselves through the massive strides that have been and are being made in the country through construction and rehabilitation of roads and related infrastructure, the number of airlines that have expressed interest in flying in the Zimbabwean airspace, the bumper harvests, increased mineral production among others.

This has been done and achieved by Zimbabweans using Zimbabwean resources.

False promises and false heroes

That this country, like any other country needs new heroes is a given.

There are those who fought in the liberation struggle, during the struggle to repossess the country’s land and natural resources and now those who are fighting the economic battle against the vagaries of neo-colonialism and the fight to restore the country’s image.

These are the heroes of our time, heroes who are gripped by what it means to love their country.

A quick perusal of the characters which are touting themselves as the alternative shows that non amongst their naïve lot fits the bill of what needs to be done to take the country to the next level.

By his own admission at the Zimbabwe Grounds, Chamisa was for once allies and generous with the truth when he openly declared that his party had no ideology and that it was frantically looking for one.

“We deliberately avoided kupinda muideology, kupinda muma values because the process yedu we are still getting everything in order, we are still consulting,” Chamisa rambled.

He then got to the core of the matter, his matter that is.

“I am going to govern this country whether you like it or not, you saw change happening in Zambia and it is going to happen here,” Chamisa declared.

“We commissioned experts to analyse the voters roll. I had been tipped off by some senior Government officials that the document was being tampered with. We have infiltrators in Government departments, we have infiltrated all Government departments.

“We will not let ZEC get away with its manipulation. Starting with this by-election, if ZEC does not address these anomalies, it will not be well. There will be instability in the country. On the issue of voter manipulation, do not panic. We have strategies.

“The first strategy is to ensure that ZEC policies are compatible with the Constitution. If they don’t heed our demands, then we will take legal remedies. But we know that the courts may not be able to deliver justice fairly. We have our own solution. We will go to the streets. We will protest against ZEC.”

Well President Mnangagwa had the perfect response for the stuttering and excitable youthful politician.

“Ndakashaya zvino kuti nhai veduwee kana mai vacho vanoti ndakaberekei. Zvonzi naChamisa nezuro kana ndikasahwinha ma elections egore rinouya tinoita mheremhere, baba vangu Shumba! Zvino wagona kutaura kuti uchaita mheremhere, tagadzirira (I asked myself what does even his mother say about him. chamisa said if he does not win next year’s elections he will cause violence. Now that you have said you will unleash violence, we are ready to deal with that),” said President Mnangagwa.

Building Zimbabwe through Zimbabweans

When closely analysed, there is absolutely no contest between the varungu mentality and nyika inovakwa nevene vayo plan.

The latter takes the trophy for reasons which are as clear as daylight to the majority of Zimbabweans.

Here is an economy that has found life courtesy of the sterling efforts of its citizens to bring development to the country.

Whereas the varungu mentality leaves locals and black people out of the development agenda matrix.

It is hot air that is premised on the ruse that some white countries will forget about their troubles to come and rescue some tiny, little country in Southern Africa because some character who is brimming with childish exuberance has said so.

Addressing yet another bumper ZANU PF crowd at Mbizo Stadium in Kwekwe on Saturday, President Mnangagwa revealed that his Government’s home-grown solutions to the country’s economic challenge were bearing fruit as seen by the number of local companies that are taking on developmental projects.

He said the looming reopening of the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Ziscosteel) in Redcliff, Kwekwe was testimony that a country can only be build by its people.

Ziscosteel was closed in 2008 due to the effects of sanctions by Chamisa’s Western handlers.

But Government, through a local company Kuvimba Mining House, where it has a large shareholding, has secured funding for the reopening of the steel making giant.

“For over 20 years, Ziscosteel has been down. At its peak Ziscosteel used to employ between 6 000-7 000 and those from the downstream industry. The company gave iron and steel to the entire region including East Africa and overseas countries,” said President Mnangagwa.

“Ziscosteel is 89 percent owned by Government and 11 percent by other stakeholders. It was sabotaged to fail through economic sanctions and efforts to bring it back were being frustrated.

“So, we have said a country is built by its custodians. We used to reach out to foreign companies to run our companies and also sought foreign technology to assist in the revival of the company until we realised that we can pursue local solutions instead”.

He went on:

“You saw the announcement we made last week, there is a need for over US$460 million to resuscitate Ziscosteel. So we entrusted Kuvimba, a local company in which Government owns more than 60 percent, with the task. We already have the US$460 million. You will see Ziscosteel firing again, we will bring back lost jobs. Kwekwe will be vibrant again”.

While President Mnangagwa was laying the foundation for the revival of one of Zimbabwe’s biggest company in Kwekwe, Chamisa and his cohorts were in Gokwe where they were provoking the police, all for images for their agitated handlers. 

CCC is way off the mark in not realising that no outside saviour is coming, Zimbabwe will be saved and served by Zimbabweans for Zimbabweans, irikuvakwa nevene vayo.