FORMER War Veterans minister Tshinga Dube will go down in
history as one person who fired warning shots to President Robert Mugabe that
the succession issue needed to be resolved urgently — but to his dismay, the
issue was regarded as taboo in his political party, Zanu PF.
Dube told NewsDay that he had been studying the chaotic
situation in the party and had a premonition of disaster and raised the red
flag saying there would be catastrophe if Mugabe did not appoint a successor
urgently.
Apart from being a revered war veteran, Dube, who is also
Zanu PF’s Makokoba MP in the National Assembly, is a retired Zimbabwe National
Army colonel.
“As an experienced person, I was always studying the
succession issue as it unfolded in Zanu PF, and yes, I could indeed foresee
political disturbances if the succession issue is not resolved such as what is
currently happening in the country,” Dube said.
“I could see that serious problems were coming, and I
remember that at one time, I even warned them (the ruling party) saying there
are going to be problems.”
Sometime this year, Dube courted controversy when he openly
suggested that it was high time Mugabe appointed a successor, but his
suggestion was ignored and even cost him his ministerial post.
“If you remember well, I am not the only one who held the
opinion that there is need for a succession plan. There are others in the party
who were also of the opinion that Mugabe must groom someone to succeed him,” he
said.
“I am not going to use the word appoint, because when I
made the suggestion I actually said he must groom someone. Appointing someone
is different from grooming them because you can appoint someone who does not
have the right qualities.”
The ruling party legislator said in some countries, it is
almost predictable who takes over or who becomes the next leader.
“This helps in that it prevents unnecessary surprises such
as what is happening now, which may be very unpleasant. We must be able to
scrutinise people to see who is capable and is able to help the people of
Zimbabwe from the political, economic and social quagmire,” he said.
Dube said if his calls for grooming a successor had been
heeded, Zimbabwe would have been able to avoid the political and constitutional
crisis that it is in now.
“We do not want to be a country that ends up like Uganda
during the era of the (late) dictator Idi Amini,” he said.
On the issue of what really drives him to damningly speaks
his mind, Dube said he simply believed in telling the truth even when it hurts.
“It is not costly to tell the truth, but I have found out
that in this country there are some people who do not want to be told the
truth, and others who do not want to say the truth. They would rather keep what
they want to say to themselves because of fear. I may not always be correct,
but I believe in telling the truth,” he said.
Dube highlighted that his background in the army and as a
freedom fighter made him a diligent and disciplined person.
“I learnt to sacrifice for the good of the people. It was
actually our breakfast, lunch and supper to ensure that our people are happy.
That is the passion that I have developed,” he said.
Asked if the rumours that he was all along in the Zanu PF
faction affiliated to former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Dube responded:
“The fact is that there are no political party cards with the Lacoste name. The
only party card that people carry is that of Zanu PF. People will always try to
associate others with something. It is not you who decides what people think of
you. I have never carried any other political party card except that of Zapu
led by the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo. Later I carried a Zanu PF card
after the Unity Accord.”
Zapu and Zanu merged in 1987 as part of a peace settlement
after the Gukurahundi civil war that claimed thousands of lives in Midlands and
Matabeleland provinces soon after independence in 1980.
Dube said he was unfazed by the fact that he was fired as
War Veterans minister because a ministerial post is not a profession.
“I was a Minister of War Veterans for only two years and
now I am back to my role as an ordinary MP. I do not think being a minister
must be a profession. It is just an appointment, but if you are fired you still
remain the same person that you were before. It is unfortunate that some people
think that you have to be a minister all your life. I must say that I am very
happy in my role as an MP and time will tell what my future will be. I am now
focused on leaving a legacy in my constituency,” he said.
Dube said he has always been a truthful person to the
extent that when he said ousted war veterans leader Christopher Mutsvangwa was
the legitimate leader, people misunderstood him.
“This was during the time when there were differences among
war veterans and my stance was that Mutsvangwa was legally elected by war
veterans. I always say that you do not change laws to suit your gains. Do not
change laws because you are in a game where you want to win. When others
suggested that I must boot him out, I refused,” he said.
One of Dube’s controversial statements was when he said
that Zimbabweans are docile during the parliamentary pre-budget conference held
in Victoria Falls recently. He said Zimbabweans had suffered a lot; sleeping at
bank queues, and experiencing other economic and social ills without taking
action.
“I said that during a parliamentary discussion and so I was
protected by the Parliamentary Privileges Act. I will not further explain that
issue outside Parliament,” he said.
He, however, said the country had been in stagnation for a
long time without infrastructural development while other poorer countries
around Zimbabwe were developing economically.
“We should now work very hard to move our country forward
and ensure our young people are gainfully employed. I think there is still time
to stabilise the country and I am sure things will work out. We only need to
make sure the person who will lead the country is a true expression of the will
of the people,” Dube said.
In 2018, Dube said he would contest the Makokoba
constituency if the people feel they still want him. If people feel otherwise,
Dube said he would quietly go and do other things like assisting the elderly,
which is one of his passions. Newsday
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