The dismissal of former Vice-President Joice Mujuru from the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front last year, together with other ZANU-PF cadres, was a welcome release from an abusive relationship in which power was yielded by one person.
According to a statement allegedly made by the United Kingdom branch of Mujuru’s new outfit, People First, Mujuru and her colleagues were merely implementing directives of pre-determined instructions from one person.
It took Mujuru and her colleagues more than three decades to realise how abusive ZANU-PF was because: “When a wife or a husband for that matter is in an abusive relationship, most of the time they do not realise that they are,” the statement issued to mark Unity Day said.
“They generally believe that it is their duty to withstand the abuse in the interest of either maintaining the marriage or being there for the children. (Ndogarira vana vangu). It is when that wife or husband through an act of God or other somehow exits that relationship that they question themselves as to why they withstood such a relationship for so long.”
People First was therefore determined to introduce a new political culture where the people of Zimbabwe become the primary drivers of policy.
“The people of Zimbabwe have to now put in place a responsible government that puts people first. We need to rid ourselves of a top-down system of government that dictates to the people instead of ruling with their consent. Zimbabwe, as 2016 beckons, let us be mindful of the fact that Zimbabwe will rise and fall on our watch. We need a unity of purpose to rid ourselves of a system of government that has impoverished millions of our people, forced many citizens to flee into the diaspora in search of a better way of life. Zimbabwe will rise and fall based on how we act.
“The People First project offers Zimbabweans a unique opportunity to unite under the leadership of a tried and tested leader who has been the vice president of Zimbabwe for over 10 years. The People First project does not question where you have been, it questions where you want to go. Zimbabwe more than ever needs a unity of purpose. A unity that puts People First,” the statement said.
The statement said Zimbabwe needs to create strong political institutions that will rid Zimbabwe of the political culture of patronage and build strong institutions that are not corruptible.
“As we look into the future let us be mindful of the fact that only we Zimbabweans can change Zimbabwe. No one else will do it for us. Only us Zimbabweans can say enough is enough. We are tired of an abusive government and an abusive political culture. It is time and the time is now,” the statement said.
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