ZANU PF MUST RELOOK AT THE PURPOSE OF THE AFFILIATES

BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA

Political party affiliates are organizations or groups that are officially or unofficially linked to a political party.

These affiliates can take various forms, including:

There can be the Youth wing. The Youth organizations can be affiliated with a political party with a vision to engage young people and promote the party’s ideology among younger demographics.

There can be a Women’s wing which comprises Organizations focused on women’s issues and promoting the party’s agenda among women.

Labor unions that are affiliated with a political party often provide support and resources in exchange for the party’s advocacy on labor issues.

Affiliates can also be Think tanks.

These would be Research organizations or think tanks that are aligned with a political party, providing policy analysis and recommendations.

It again spreads to Community groups. Community-based organizations that are affiliated with a political party work on local issues and promote the party’s agenda at the grassroots level.

Affiliates should provide benefits to a political party, such as expanded reach. Affiliates can help the party reach new demographics and communities.

The affiliates provide Resource support to the party.

Affiliates may provide financial, logistical, or volunteer support to the party.

It is the party that must benefit from the affiliates and not the affiliates draining the party. Affiliates like think tanks can offer specialized policy knowledge and analysis.

We must not lose sight of the fact that affiliates can also present challenges, such as having Independent agendas.

Affiliates may have their agendas, which can sometimes conflict with the party’s overall goals.

This is the biggest problem when affiliates are affiliated for their own benefit.

The party must have a mechanism for controlling and coordinating the affiliates. Managing relationships with multiple affiliates can be complex and require significant coordination efforts.

ZANU PF, Zimbabwe’s ruling party, should benefit from its affiliates in several ways which including expanded reach and support base.

But the type of affiliates we have now are just there to benefit from the party.

They are not working for the party but using the party.

Proper affiliates who have the party at heart are Affiliates like the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) and the Women’s League who help ZANU PF reach and mobilize support among specific demographics, such as war veterans and women.

This then raises a question about other pastes calling themselves affiliates.

Affiliates should provide resources, including financial support, volunteer efforts, and logistical assistance, which can aid ZANU PF in its campaigns and governance activities.

Most affiliates we have now have become parrots and do not add any value to the party.

They have become cheerleaders, only wanting to perform where the President will be and before the cameras.

Affiliates must have Legitimacy and historical linkage:

Affiliates like the ZNLWVA, which comprises veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation war, provide ZANU PF with a sense of historical legitimacy and connection to the country’s struggle for independence.

Affiliates should advocate for specific policies or issues that align with ZANU PF’s agenda, helping to promote the party’s policy goals and shape public discourse.

Not noise makers who compete to be seen. There should be a clear Grassroots engagement.

Affiliates should facilitate grassroots engagement and community-level mobilization, helping ZANU PF maintain its presence and support at the local level.

Not the kind of idiocy being exhibited by some affiliates.

By leveraging these affiliates, ZANU PF can strengthen its support base, mobilize resources, and promote its policy agenda.

Genuine Political party affiliates typically affiliate with the party itself, rather than directly with the President of the party.

Affiliates like youth wings, women’s leagues, or labor unions do have a formal or informal affiliation with the political party as an organization.

When affiliates decide to abandon the party and choose to be affiliates for the president, then things do fall apart.

Support for party leadership is encouraged, but we put the party first then leadership will come.

While affiliates may have a strong connection to the party’s leadership, including the President, their primary affiliation is with the party as a whole.

There must be a clear Alignment with party goals.

Affiliates generally align themselves with the party’s overall goals, ideology, and agenda, rather than solely with the personal interests or agenda of the party’s President.

This affiliation structure allows affiliates to maintain a degree of autonomy while still supporting the party’s broader objectives.

It also helps ensure that affiliates are working to advance the party’s overall interests, rather than just promoting the personal interests of the party’s President, to confuse the whole party.

In the case of ZANU PF, for example, the proper affiliates like the ZNLWVA and Women’s League are affiliated with the party itself, rather than directly with the President of ZANU PF The affiliates should realise that ZANU PF vanhu and vanhu I ZANU PF.

The syndrome of see me is destroying the party. Affiliates fight to dance near the president and follow the President wherever he goes. This is not patriotism.

Affiliates must ask themselves what they should do for the party. Not what the party should do for them.

We must remember that the President of ZANU PF is not ZANU PF, but he is the President of ZANU PF.