‘Development agenda must override political difference’

23 Jun, 2019 - 00:06 0 Views
‘Development agenda must override political difference’

The Sunday Mail

Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Cde Victor Matemadanda was recently appointed Zanu-PF national political commissar following an extraordinary Politburo meeting. The governing party is currently undergoing a restructuring exercise to ably meet the demands of contemporary politics. Our Chief Reporter, Kuda Bwititi spoke to Cde Matemadanda to get a lowdown of the plans he has in his new assignment.

Q: What are your thoughts on the new appointment?

A: It is obviously the greatest honour of my career in Zanu-PF so far. I am very excited, but at the same time I feel challenged.

This is a challenge that demands a lot of hard work and contribution. I believe in myself and I have the passion to work for my party.

I am going to be doing something that I love and this gives me great satisfaction.

I am going to give complete commitment and vigour to this role. It is a huge honour.

It is also a demonstration by the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) of his wish to see the reinvigoration of the party.

I have a huge obligation to repay this trust and confidence that the President has placed upon me.

Q: What are the immediate major tasks that you will embark on?

A: The immediate task is simple. We need to strengthen Zanu-PF as a people’s party. The party should be in the hands of the people.

The wishes and desires of the people are what should drive the foundations of the party.

In the past we had a situation where the leadership had captured the party from the people.

They dominated everything, leaving the people to play second fiddle. They concentrated on their own power, cementing their power while the people played second fiddle. That is why we had talk on the one centre of power.

Since the dawn of the new dispensation, the President has made it clear that he abides by the principle of servant leadership.

This means that we have to take the party away from the leaders and put it back in the hands of the people.

Zanu-PF is a people’s party, it is safe when it is in the people’s hands.

Q: What then is the strategy to take the party back to the people?

A: We want to inculcate the principle of democratic centralism, where every level of the party is involved in decision-making.

This system allows every member of the party, regardless of rank, colour or creed, to have a say on matters of the party.

Zanu-PF is a people’s party and every person you can think of — for example the artisanal miners, the bus conductors or hwindis, the vendors — must all be involved in positively contributing to the party.

You involve them by engaging them and listening to their problems. These people actually know the solution to the challenges they face and we have to help them as their leaders to get to where they want to be.

We are not going to sideline anyone. We need to have more and more meetings so that we are in touch and in sync with our people.

Soon after my appointment, people representing different races phoned me saying they also want to be part of our party programmes. This is what we want.

Zanu-PF is big enough to accommodate anyone regardless of race, colour or creed.

So we should have a standing policy to understand the people’s problems, hear them out and constantly engage them on what they see as the solutions.

And as the ruling party, we then need to push the people’s agenda and send the message strongly to Government.

Government should also help us by adopting policies that are pro-people.

Q: In that regard, do you think enough is being done in terms of the party holding the Government to account?

A: I think that the party, being the mother of Government, should take a leading role in holding Government to account. This is exactly what we should be doing. That is why in my role as commissar, I am going to go down to the people and get the views of the people. The people will tell us what they want from Government and we will deliver the message loud and clear.

We should reach a position where we can be able to tell Government officials that the people are saying do this and that, shape up or ship out.

The President has also made it very clear that Government programmes should be in sync with the party’s manifesto.

So that is definitely something we should have oversight on. We need to have oversight on our manifesto to see if it is being implemented because it is the manifesto that won us the elections. It is the manifesto that gave us the five-year mandate to govern.

By voting for Zanu-PF, the people approved our manifesto and our programme of action.

It is this programme that every Government worker should understand so that there are no conflicts.

If some Government officials think they have better ideas, they should tell us before they fight this manifesto.

The Government should strive to fulfil what the manifesto said.

Q: Do you not feel that you are going to face challenges in mobilising people to support the party during the current economic challenges that have brought hardships to the people?

A: What is important to note is that austerity does not last forever, it is a necessary phase that will end next year in line with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme.

The pain that we are feeling now will be rewarded.

If we say austerity, it should be for everyone. Austerity should not just be for the ordinary people, but for the elites as well.

I am going to facilitate people’s understanding of the reforms that are taking place in our economy.

It should not only be Government or the Finance Minister, it should be the people’s programme.

The people need to be well informed and properly schooled on what the Government is doing.

These programmes have to have people’s buy-in.

Austerity measures did not start with Zimbabwe. Rwanda underwent austerity, America, German and several other countries have undergone austerity.

The challenge we have is that the proper understanding of what austerity entails is lacking.

We want to make sure that people understand the remaining phase of the austerity measures.

I believe we should have booklets that package the economic programme.

As the commissariat, my intention is to have such booklets that are distributed to all our party members, starting at the cell level.

We need to hold meetings and discuss such issues and package the programmes.

I strongly feel that decisions being made at the highest level of Government are not cascading down to the people.

Even some people who represent the masses do not have a full understanding of matters that are taking centre stage in the economy.

They need to know what Government is doing. The councillors, the Members of Parliament, members of the branch and cell should be able to have a deep understanding of these measures so that the people are familiar with what is taking place.

Q: What is your strategy on restructuring the party, in light of measures currently underway, which have seen the overhaul of provincial executives for Harare and Bulawayo?

A: What is important to note is that restructuring is prescribed in the party constitution.

The constitution is clear on who should occupy what and at what level. So we are going to be guided by the party’s laws.

Timelines set out in the constitution state that cells should be restructured every year, the branch is restructured every two years, districts are restructured every three years; provinces, every four years and the central committee every five years.

Harare and Bulawayo had developed some problems, hence the dissolution of the executives. We are going to restructure them.

I will be moving around all the provinces and will recommend to the Politburo on the action that we will take.

Q: Are there any timelines to achieve this?

A: I will be able to do that once I finish visiting all the provinces.

Q: What is the ideology that you will seek to champion as political commissar?

A: We should shun toxic politics and promote developmental politics.

Politics should not be always about differences or insulting each other at rallies.

The developmental agenda should override differences.

Every party should maintain its political ideology, but we should shun petty fights. Competition in politics should be about ideas.

We should convince the electorate through our ideas so that the voters can judge who has the best concepts.

We must speak the language of development despite our differences.

Elections only come once in every five years. That means we have a lot of time to focus on developmental issues.

Even the opposition should contribute through positive ideas. That is why the President is engaging in political dialogue with the opposition.

I am very much against negative statements such as “kudira jecha” (sabotage). It divides the people, it divides the nation. Imagine if Zanu-PF was also to say that it wants “kudira jecha” on those who do not support it.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

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