2025 PEOPLE’S CONFERENCE WILL UNITE ZANU PF

BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA

There’s definitely been a lot of buzz about potential cracks between President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga in Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party — and opposition activists are loving the drama, aren’t they?

But let’s break it down.

They always say an enemy of your enemy is your enemy.

It is therefore prudent that we unpack the situation before us.

Is There a Fissure Between ED and Chiwenga?

The truth is yes, cracks are visible, but some cracks are important, caused to strengthen the party.

There’s been tension surrounding the “ED2030” campaign, a push to extend President Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2028.

Vice President Chiwenga’s allies and a large portion of Zimbabweans reportedly oppose this, viewing it as undermining democratic norms.

This has led to speculations about divisions between the two top leaders.

However, Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa has downplayed these claims, calling them “social media hullabaloo” and emphasizing party unity.

How Do ED and Chiwenga Handle Issues?

Publicly, both leaders have denounced factionalism within Zanu PF, stressing the need for unity.

Unity in a political party is like having a squad that’s got each other’s backs.

It helps them achieve common goals, present a strong front, and effectively represent their ideology.

Common Ideology: Parties usually have core values or beliefs.

Unity helps in promoting these shared principles.

Electoral Strength: A united party often looks stronger to voters. Disunity can lead to fragmentation and losing elections.

Policy Cohesion: Unity helps in pushing through policies and agendas without internal conflicts bogging things down.

Public Image: A united front projects stability and reliability to the public and media. Avoiding Factionalism.

Internal splits or factions can weaken a party’s Leadership: Unity often revolves around supporting a leader or a collective leadership direction.

Consequences of a Lack of Unity are dire, and they destroy the party.

It causes unnecessary Splits and Factions.

Disunity can lead to breakaways forming new parties or factions, hurting the original party’s strength.

Disunity causes great, devastating electoral defeat and Loss of Support. Voters might lose trust if a party looks divided.

It must be noted that disunity causes Policy Gridlock.

Internal disagreements can stall decision-making.

ZANU-PF has seen internal tensions over time affecting cohesion.

Like splits in Labour parties or factionalism in various political setups worldwide, these parties split, showing how divisions impact effectiveness.

ZANU-PF has an internal mechanism for Maintaining Unity.

Dialogue and Compromise Often help manage internal differences.

In ZANU PF, there are internal talks, and from inside ZANU PF is more united.

The comrades in the party Operate on Shared Goals.

Focusing on common objectives like elections or policy aims has helped to keep unity.

Overall, while unity’s important for effectiveness, realpolitik often shows us parties grapple with balancing internal dynamics and external ambitions.

Internally, though, there are reports of sparring over the ED2030 agenda during Central Committee meetings.

Chiwenga has warned against disunity reminiscent of the 2017 events that ousted Robert Mugabe.

We always ask if Party Structures are Affected by the Mirage of Disunity.

Party meetings have seen mixed reactions on the ED2030 push — some provinces backing term extension while facing legal and constitutional hurdles.

Those against are threatened with being fired or demoted.

But all this is akin to sibling banter.

What Should Be the Focus at the Mutare Conference?

The upcoming conference, the National People’s Conference in Mutare, should focus on: Unity. Amidst internal tensions, and emphasizing party cohesion is key.

Economic Issues should be dealt with and focus more on changing the economic situation instead of getting caught up in leadership drama.

The parties will aim to focus on Zimbabwe’s economic progress, like addressing poverty, inflation, and development seems crucial than fighting for one office.

After all, the economic front’s making some inroads, but distractions on social media aren’t helping.

Overall, while there’s theatrical drama unfolding in Zanu PF’s internal politics, the real impact lies in how it affects Zimbabwe’s governance and people’s lives.

The ZANU PF conference should indeed focus on serving the people of Zimbabwe, addressing their needs, improving livelihoods, and pushing for national development.

Putting people’s welfare at the center can help align party goals with real community needs. During this conference, we need to focus on Key Areas like Economic Development.

Tackling issues like unemployment, poverty, and inflation can uplift citizens.

Zimbabwe’s economy’s potential but faces challenges needing pragmatic solutions. Healthcare is a thorny issue.

Improving healthcare services impacts people’s wellbeing directly.

Quality education empowers communities and drives progress.

Agriculture: Since agriculture is vital for Zimbabwe’s economy and food security, supporting farmers matters and must be our focus.

ZANU-PF must be a driving force in rehabilitating our Infrastructure.

The conference must focus on rehabilitating Better roads, water supply, and energy development.

Serving the People Means Accountability.

Leaders are answerable to the people for their actions and outcomes.

Transparency, Openness in governance builds trust, which we are now seeking.

Community Engagement: Listening to citizens’ needs helps shape responsive policies.

The Conference must consider the Challenges we are facing, like Corruption.

Corruption hinders effective service delivery and trust.

The country is facing Economic Struggles.

Zimbabwe’s faced tough economic times affecting living standards, and this should be the driving force at the conference.

By focusing on people-centered policies, ZANU PF and any governing entity can work towards improving lives.

It’s about translating political will into tangible benefits for citizens — like jobs, services, and empowerment.

Ultimately, politics should connect with the everyday realities — jobs, health, schools, and infrastructure.

ZANU PF is people, and People are ZANU PF.