Upenyu Chaota
Masvingo Urban legislator and Zanu PF politburo member, Daniel Shumba has challenged the masses to stand up and constitutionally challenge the ruling party if they do not like its rule rather than complain aimlessly as that will not help them.
Addressing a packed Charles Austin theatre at Civic Centre in Masvingo during the National Transitional Justice Working Group (NTJWG) dialogue meeting last week, Shumba said the law provided for citizens’ power to hold their government to account.
He argued that the people are to blame for the rot in the country due to their failure to act.
“Our problems stem from our failure to follow through on the ideals of the constitution we voted for. I am deeply concerned that we have allowed corruption and externalisation of natural resources. If you go to Beitbridge border post, everybody; black, white and brown is externalising resources.
“We have allowed self-enrichment and corruption at all levels. We have allowed externalisation of resources; money which has affected our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We have got a spirit of entitlement in Zimbabwe and that has killed a culture of hard work while promoting laziness and corruption,” said Shumba.
“If you don’t like somebody, there is something you can do about it….even if it’s Zanu PF or me. We need to rid our systems of partisanship. We are to blame for the mess,” he said.
He however accused the West of injecting over 380 million euros into the country, not through the fiscus but through civic society groups opposed to the government.
He claimed that this year alone, a lot of money had found its way into the country through the wrong channels.
“We need to introspect as to why we have many challenges in African politics because most of the political discourse is as a consequent of sorcerers. Wherever two people of a family have a disagreement, it is easier to resolve as a family but when an external person comes and supports one or the other, agitation begins,” Shumba said.news
