Letters To The Editor ‘Command war’ not necessary

ONE of the most painful experiences in life is to plan and prepare hard for the demise or failure of your perceived enemies, only to wake up to the reality that the more you wish them evil, the more they excel.

You don’t want them to get married and the next thing you hear is they are having a wedding and you are one of the invited guests or for one reason or the other you wish that your enemy dies a pauper and before you realise it, they are hooting you to offer you a lift.

I can imagine the frustration, embarrassment and disappointment that build up in a person, but such is life because if God grants us all our evil wishes upon others, then this world will be a miserable place to live on, especially to add onto the challenges that humankind is facing.

The above introduction has been provoked by the ongoing debate or rather war of words between Government officials over the Command Agriculture programme which was mooted and implemented during the last farming season.

As the name of the programme suggests, authorities mooted this programme with a view to depart from the norm where citizens and farmers would produce or do things their own way without considering the national perspective.

The idea was to enhance production on all productive land with assistance coming from Government and private partners.

As fate would have it, the good heavens opened up and the programme in its maiden season of implementation surpassed expectations in terms of total produce expected to be harvested.

Now for a nation which has been experiencing negativity in several sectors, we all thought that for a change we would all at least be realistic and commend ourselves for at least achieving something in a long period of time, but on the contrary there are some among us who are so angry with the success of the programme.

Different reasons were given from the fact that it had failed elsewhere, so it was also supposed to fail here.

Now that it has succeeded there is claim that the military has captured State institutions under the guise of Command Agriculture.

So if the programme. was approved by the highest person on the T land who happens to be the Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, how then can the same military be said to be capturing the State?

On top of that this programme is being superintended by a whole Vice-President who himself is a liberator of repute who has been in the trenches with the President for a very long time and his chairing of the programme speaks volumes of the President’s trust in him. Evidence is there for all to see because the programme has been a success.

For a programme of such a massive nature and also of such strategic importance, it is inevitable that there could be loopholes here and there and that some information regarding the programme may not be as forthcoming as many people would want.

Moreover, it is a new programme in which everybody was anxiously waiting to see how it works.

Governments must be criticised, programmes must be scrutinised and public officials must account, that is what forms the basis of good governance, but when officials of the same Government are at the forefront of demonising a programme, successful as it is, which is being implemented by the same Government they purport to serve then their motive become questionable.

It is more questionable when the person on the forefront of discrediting this programme has not hidden his dislike of the person overseeing this programme.

So rather than criticising objectively, the issue has become more personal than it serves the national cause. Do we really have to allow hatred to drive us to such low levels as to try and open old wounds and even go tribal?

This is not Zanu-PF’s way of doing things. There is a better way of doing things and my prayer is that the sooner people find this way, the better.

Shame Isaki, Mutare