THE Zanu PF annual national people’s conference which ended yesterday has further cast doubt over the party’s preparedness for an early election.
Despite claims by various speakers that Zanu PF was poised for a resounding victory in next year’s elections, the atmosphere on the first day of the conference did not bode well with such claims.
The estimated 5 000 delegates were rather passive and lacked the confidence exhibited at previous conferences.
Absent was the electrifying atmosphere characterised by rhetorical speeches, powerful singing and dancing which had become synonymous with Zanu PF conferences, especially ahead of elections.
There appeared to be an air of uncertainty among delegates. It was evident that age has caught up with their candidate for next year’s elections — 88-year-old President Robert Mugabe. Mugabe himself was not super-charged when he delivered his speech.
Every now and then, he leaned on the podium and his speech was sometimes slurred, making him a shadow of the great orator known over the years.
Under the “bhora musango” strategy which was widely believed to have been applied during the 2008 elections, some party officials would encourage the electorate to vote for Zanu PF members of parliament and at the same time decampaign Mugabe. This resulted in most Zanu PF candidates garnering far much more votes than Mugabe in their constituencies.
Zanu PF national chairman, Simon Khaya-Moyo said that the scourge of corruption and lack of discipline spelled disaster for the party. He said the quest for indigenisation created a platform for corruption by some party leaders.
“Entrepreneurship has now been replaced by ‘corruptonuership’,” he said. “We must be a clean party guided by values and ideals of the liberation struggle and abide by the constitution. We must come out of this historical conference committed to fighting corruption in favour of entrepreneurship.”
Vice-President Joice Mujuru also said divisions and conflicts were threatening to tear Zanu PF apart.
“Let’s forgive each other. Acrimony stands as a threat to stability of the party,” she said.
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Zimbabwe: Fear, Uncertainty Mark Zanu-PF Conference