ZANU PF politburo member Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said
the Cabinet must answer to the ruling party, and threatened they would fire
ministers that do not file reports with the secretariat, igniting an old age
debate about the separation between government and Zanu PF.
The line between the party and government has been blurred
for much of Zanu PF’s four-decade-old rule, but analysts say the old guard,
overlooked for ministerial posts in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new
dispensation, wanted more say in State affairs.
At the start of his “second republic”, Mnangagwa moved a
number of senior party officials from ministerial positions to Zanu PF
headquarters and kept their ministerial perks intact.
These include Chinamasa, Obert Mpofu, David Parirenyatwa
and Simon Khaya Moyo, among others.
But now with very little say in how the economy is run, the
former ministers have been lobbying for the party to have more say in
government affairs.
Chinamasa, who is also the ruling party’s acting
spokesperson, told a provincial co-ordinating committee meeting (PCC) in
Mashonaland East that because Zanu PF was the party that sponsored the
ministers into government, then its interest should be served by anyone
appointed by it.
Power, Chinamasa argued, resided at Zanu PF headquarters
and the party would not hesitate to pull the plug on anyone who does not
conform to its dictates.
“I want to thank the ministers who came here, because these
are our ministers in Zanu PF. They should serve Zanu PF interests not their
own, but Zanu PF,” he said.
“All the programmes that they are doing, be it fixing the
roads and any other works, these are programmes driven by Zanu PF.”
Chinamasa’s utterances came at a time Finance minister
Mthuli Ncube and Lands minister Anxious Masuka last week came under fire over a
statement they jointly issued, which most people said was ultra vires the
ruling party’s position on land compensation.
The two had to hold a second Press briefing in a week to
defend their position that government would compensate indigenous and white
farmers whose land was seized during the land reform programme yet it fell
under the Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement.
They claimed that their move was not tantamount to reversal
of the land reform programme.
The former Finance minister said all government programmes
which were funded by all Zimbabweans through tax collections, regardless of
political affiliation, should be credited to his party.
“There should be no programme done by government that
should be done without Zanu PF being given credit and being at the forefront,”
Chinamasa said.
“We don’t want to hear that you are commissioning a road,
yet Zanu PF does not know when we are the ones who sent you; we are going to
construct a dam, then you proceed to build a dam without informing the party.
“It is the party that should get credit for all the work
that you do in government, us as Zanu PF.”
He added: “If you behave and act in that manner, we will
not have any problems. All ministers in government should not forget that we
sent them there, and we are watching if you are toeing the line of the party.
If we see that you are pulling in your own direction, we know what to do.”
At a time the market has self-dollarised, Chinamasa said
the local currency remained central to reviving the economy, blasting those
demanding to be paid in United States dollars ahead of the weak local currency.
“No country can prosper without its own currency. You will
not achieve anything by using other people’s currencies, because if you have
your own money, you are the ones who print it, and control how to balance money
supply,” he said.
Chinamasa, who was accompanied by Ncube, praised the latter
for reintroducing the local currency, saying he (Chinamasa) had failed to make
the bold move when he was in the same portfolio.
He, however, conceded that the economy had dollarised,
calling it a problem that Ncube should fix.
“Doctors are charging in US dollars, vendors are charging
in US dollars, it has made life difficult for people. This should be fixed,”
Chinamasa said.
“I have a relative who wanted to visit an optician, to
remove a cataract from one eye. They were charging US$800. That needs to be
fixed.” Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment