By Tapiwa Kapurura
Over the weekend Temba Mliswa an independent candidate won over Zanu PF’s Ronald Chindedza. Heads will roll for a while as people continue to talk. As others have celebrated, some are still sulking.
Even from within the Zanu PF echelons, there is finger pointing and tongue lashing. Zanu PF desperately wanted the win. President Robert Mugabe wanted the seat. The two VPs descended on Norton to show support. Every loophole was closed. Chris Mutsvangwa would have to be replaced by another Zanu PF candidate by any means. So they thought.
Ahead of the election, corn was distributed like manna. Residential stands were also doled out like wedding confetti. That was an act of vote buying to curry favor with the electorate. Social analysts took to social media to criticize vote buying. Zanu PF openly bragged that gifts doled out were state resources. It was the ruling party. The beneficiaries deserved it. In the Zanu PF world, victory was written on the wall.
Come election day, Zanu PF used all its old tricks but still lost. I think Mutsvangwa popped champagne in his little corner. In my opinion Zanu PF lost because people are getting weary of the run- of-a-mill rampant corruption in Zimbabwe among top Zanu PF stalwarts.
The AG has not done much on this politically-wrapped vice. ZACC the anti graft body has been too slow or too weak to act. It has had too many political hurdles forcing it to cherry pick on who to go after and who to avoid.
President Mugabe has promised to deal with corruption from the podium but his inertia on the subject in real life has been amazingly unexpected. Many miffed citizens now view him as condoning the issue to protect his big wigs.
Amid the spiralling corruption are rising unemployment, grinding poverty, closure of medical facilities as infrastructure continues to crumble. Water and power are scarce in urban areas as street vending has become the social norm for survival.
Then bond notes are on the way. The national conditions are generally depressing. There is so much to bear by the ordinary person and the future looks bleak as government is challenged to act on issues that seem insurmountable.
With that President Mugabe has geared up his globe-trotting hobby that consumes a considerable chunk of scant state resources. Two weeks ago his son in law was deployed to be the COO of Air Zimbabwe as heads rolled over such bawdy nepotism. It has now become a slippery slope of issues bedeviling Zimbabwe.
When gifts were doled out Santa Claus style in Norton ahead of election, all poor and needy lined up for the free manna. But that didn’t mean genuine love or support for ZanuPF. People welcomed the surprise gifts with smiles but voted with their hurt hearts.
Mliswa’s victory became a cause for celebration because it was a social barometer on people’s feelings on the ground. However, it should not be an excuse for complacence. More hard work is expected to sustain more victories in future elections. The Norton election was reportedly mired by thuggery and other improper trends. It was said to be not free and fair by all standards as ZanuPF tried hard to force a win.
In the same wave, NERA should not be shelved because of the Norton result.People should not be silenced by a cup cake from a father’s murderer. ZEC needs urgent reform. Zimbabwe deserves free and fair elections for a secure future. Without electoral reforms, it’s a matter of accompanying ZanuPF to the Victory Stadium.
Mliswa’s victory simply helped to remind Zanu PF that people are in their last spin of poverty, suffering and being taken for granted. Everyone loves free stuff. Poverty is in the air. That doesn’t make people forget old broken promises by Zanu PF, let alone, the triggers of their current social insecurity.
Actually, many now prefer to hide in Zanu PF regalia to attract free goods as they find protection from thuggery and violence by its youth. Rally numbers can be misleading too and no matter how much force or cosmetic splashes of trinkets or gifts people may get to be lured to vote for Zanu PF, many of these voters are mature adults of sound minds.
They know the causes of their current suffering.
Corruption is not caused by sanctions by the West. Zanu PF may try to force the donkey to the river but will not force the donkey to drink water. The axe easily forgets, but the tree remembers. If Zanu PF does not reform and start respecting people’s wishes in a genuine way, that’s the end of the Revolutionary Party.
Tapiwa Kapurura is a lawyer. He writes in a personal capacity. You can follow him on twitter: @TapiwaKapurura
