OPPOSITION Zapu says the recently held byelections confirmed it as the country’s third biggest political party. It says it is poised to brew a shocker in next year’s harmonised polls. The Daily News On Sunday Southern Editor Jeffrey Muvundusi last week sat down with Zapu president Sibangilizwe Nkomo to discuss political developments in the country. Below are the excerpts of the interview.
Q: It’s almost six months since you were elected as Zapu president, how has been the journey so far?
A: As expected, the journey hasn’t been easy, but we have taken all the challenges as lessons and we are well on course to fulfilling all that we set ourselves to accomplish.,
Q: Soon after being elected, you promised to revive and unite the party with the sole objective of winning the 2023 elections, do you still feel it’s an achievable feat, if so why?
A: We have already achieved the unity of our members which was almost compromised by our pre-congress contestation. All our members are focused on contributing positively to the growth, stability and unity of Zapu.
Q: Your assessment of the just ended by-elections, was it satisfactory?
A: Our satisfaction or lack thereof is located in the free expression of our people to exercise the right to vote without undue influence by contestants and or third parties. We contend that the process was relatively free, but largely unfair as Zanu PF abused government resources and structures. They also blatantly manipulated voters through threats and coercion through bribery. Amidst all this, our people still managed to resist these machinations and voted against them.
Q: How do you assess your party’s performance in the just ended elections, and given that, what are your prospects in next year’s harmonised elections?
A: While we are disappointed that we didn’t win any seats both at local government and Parliament, we are buoyed by our general performance which effectively confirmed Zapu as the third largest political party in Zimbabwe and growing. Of note is that we beat both Zanu PF and CCC in some areas and increased our vote tally in Tsholotsho South by a whopping 215 percent from the 2018 results. We achieved this despite the fact that most voters who registered after our congress were ineligible to vote in the byelections.
Q: Over the years we have seen the rise in toxic politics coupled with violence which sometimes results in loss of lives, who is to blame and how can that be nipped in the bud ahead of the 2023 elections?
A: Political violence in Zimbabwe is a tool used by Zanu PF since the time of the liberation struggle. They don’t believe in engagement on ideas because they never had one idea except tribalism and violence. This anomaly can be traced back to their formation in 1963 which was reactionary more than it was ideological. To solve this scourge, Zimbabwe must not only do away with Zanu PF, but Zanuism as a political culture and model of contestation.
Q: Are we likely to see Zapu joining other opposition parties if a coalition is mooted against the ruling Zanu PF?
A: Our political mantra of “finishing the unfinished business” helps locate our aspirations and who our enemies are. We will invest all in our power to ensure that Zimbabwe breaks from the tainted past of Zanu PF and Zanuism whether practiced by Zanu PF original or Zanu Lite in whatever form. With regards to coalitions or any forms of cooperation to achieve the above, we will be guided by our structures and membership. What is not, however, an option is any participation in a project that will create a one-party or two-party state because history has taught us that the Zanu PF attempt in 1987 effectively strangled our democracy.
Q: Some opposition parties have been calling for dialogue with the ruling party and other stakeholders to end the country’s decades of economic hardships. Do you support such calls?
A: Our position is that dialogue should be encouraged only if such dialogue is expected to advance the ideals of free and fair elections and the respect of the will of the people. We will not participate in any dialogue that benefits leaders to join the feeding trough. We are not fighting to be governed better, neither to join the gravy train, but to put the citizens first on the developmental agenda of the country.
Q: As Zapu, what do you think is the solution to the country’s perennial problems?
A: Zapu believes that Zimbabwe’s problems are largely political and as such, only a political solution will solve them. This speaks to the consent of the governed. Currently, a government is in place without the consent of the citizens generally, but more significantly, the urban citizens who pay taxes. That social contract is broken and unless it is mended through their consent and active participation, we’re heading towards an implosion sooner or later.
Q: Your parting shot?
A: We have noted public pronouncements by senior members of Zanu PF about their unwillingness to accept defeat through elections. It is an understandable drama by a party feeling the heat of an energised people. Zapu implores political parties, civic society, the churches and all progressive forces to ramp up the pressure a notch higher. Theirs is a calculated move to discourage us from registering to vote and to actually vote in 2023. As Zapu, we have the capacity to effect a peaceful transfer of power from these pseudo revolutionaries and we will achieve that whether they are kicking or screaming
