THE church spoke, advising President Emmerson Mnangagwa to resist the seduction and temptation of power saying calls by loyalists for him to extend his stay in office are “an invitation for the President to be a co-conspirator in overthrowing the Constitution of the country which the President is elected to uphold, respect and defend”.
Before that, opposition political parties and civil society organisations had also raised the same reservations saying amending the Constitution will erode the gains made in making the country democratic.
The war veterans went for the jugular, saying Mnangagwa must step down for failing to rein in corruption, alleged tribalism and violation of the Constitution.
In the midst of these concerns, Zanu PF is plunging headlong, saying it will not be deterred from rewarding Mnangagwa with two years via a constitutional amendment when his final term ends in 2028 so that he completes his vision of transforming the country.
Mnangagwa has distanced himself from attempts by loyalists pushing for his tenure to be extended by two years.
Despite his stance, the 2030 chorus is growing louder by the day.
Zanu PF’s youth, drawn from Harare province, marched in the capital on Saturday in support for the presidential term extension.
The rift between the pro-2030 camp and those against the plan came to a head last week at the National Heroes Acre with one group singing in support of the thrust while the other sung praises for Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
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There are fears these differences could turn physical. And when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
The economy will be the biggest casualty. When all hands must be on deck to tackle the country’s multi-faceted problems, government officials are competing to praise-sing Mnangagwa.
Hardly a week passes without a meeting where ministers tell supporters that the 2030 plan is unstoppable. We are in an election mode, hardly 18 months after the 2023 harmonised elections.
This is coming at a time when the economy is under-performing with retailers warning of closure if government fails to rein in the rising informal sector that is eating formal business’ lunch.
Companies are struggling, choked by the liquidity crunch as monetary authorities maintain a tight monetary policy thrust to defend the local currency, the Zimbabwe Gold.
This has accelerated the re-dollarisation of the economy as the local currency becomes elusive, throwing into disarray government’s plans to have the local currency as the sole legal tender.
When the environment is littered with politicking, it creates uncertainty and kills long-term planning by companies. It scares away potential investors, except fly-by-night ones bent on looting the country’s resources.
Mnangagwa must provide leadership by telling his loyalists to stop forthwith calling for the extension of his tenure.
His failure to call out loyalists has been interpreted as an endorsement of the scheme with top war veteran Blessed Geza saying last week that all actions point to a “well-orchestrated” plan from the President’s Office for Mnangagwa to hang on to power.
The 2030 push is meant to pursue narrow interests which whould not be allowed to overshadow issues of national interest such as the economy which is in need of urgent attention.
