The ManicaPost
Cletus Mushanawani News Editor
THE embattled Zimbabwe People First party was doomed from the onset because it was made up of people without a clear ideological thrust, political analysts have said.
The Dr Joice Mujuru-led ZimPF imploded on Wednesday as expulsions and counter expulsions rocked the party.
Dr Mujuru first announced the firing of the party’s council of elders, among them Messrs Didymus Mutasa, Munacho Mutezo, Rugare Gumbo, Claudious Makova, Lucky Kandemiri and Dr Margaret Dongo and barely two hours later, those shown the exit door hit back and announced the expulsion of Dr Mujuru.
The council of elders were accused of destabilising the party and plotting a coup against Dr Mujuru, while the elders hit back accusing Dr Mujuru of dictatorial tendencies.
Nyanga based political analyst, Mr Collin Mharadzano said: “The party (ZimPF) is a loose collection of people who do not have a clear ideological thrust. These are people driven by foreign interests. They are not their own people and they are on a mission whose objective is driven from a point of detracting what the current Government has done since independence. It is a project which was doomed from the word go.
“The party is not Zimbabwe People First, but Zimbabwe People Last. It is an open secret that Dr Mujuru has been globetrotting befriending our erstwhile former colonisers whose agenda is to see Zanu-PF out of power, something which will never happen.”
A Chiredzi-based commentator and regular contributor to The Manica Post, Mr Richard Mahuhushe Chauke, said the developments in ZimPF were a clear indication that all opposition parties in Zimbabwe were doomed.
“In Zimbabwe, we do not have opposition parties, but people driven by selfish agendas. No political party can push Zanu-PF and President Mugabe out of power.
“With the heavens smiling at us and giving us above normal rainfall, this spells doom to opposition parties because they will have nothing to sell to the electorate come 2018. The faces of some of the ZimPF elders during their Press Conference were very revealing. They were telling a story of a confused lot and my advice to them is to take a deep introspection and re-trace their roots to Zanu-PF because they are all political spent forces,” said Mr Chauke.
Another commentator, Mr Chigumbu Warikandwa, said Dr Mujuru was forced to fire the party’s elders to strengthen her position in the so-called opposition coalition which was reported to be taking shape and would be announced by June this year.
“There have been suspicions among opposition parties that ZimPF has strong roots in Zanu-PF and would be used to weaken the opposition parties. This gave Dr Mujuru little bargaining power in the coalition positions and for her to curry favour with opposition leaders like Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, she had to be seen to be playing ball by firing all senior members who were expelled from Zanu-PF.
“This is all to do with money. Opposition parties play to the tune of their handlers. Although Mr Tsvangirai has announced that a coalition deal will be in place by June, I can safely tell you that come July 1, all papers will be carrying screaming headlines that the coalition bid has failed to meet the given deadlines. The major cause will be squabbling among the opposition parties. Rifts within the opposition parties are widening on a daily basis and they will not go anywhere,” he said.
