A senior government official has condemned South African opposition leaders in general and Julius Malema in particular over their tendency to criticise the Harare regime at every turn.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Ndvaningi Mangwana chided Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema for “speaking too fast and thinking too slow”. Said Mangwana:
South African opposition parties have this Big Brother mentality that makes them behave like some super-transnational parties.
They have no respect for national boundaries and attendant sovereign autonomy of neighbours. At least our own do their grandstanding on national issues.
He comments without understanding. He is not a bad guy, but ill-informed comments make one sound like a dunce.
A lot has been said and debated over the last few days, regarding compensation for former farm owners.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Government of Zimbabwe’s position is to compensate for farm improvements and not the land.
This is a consistent position captured in both our Constitution and enabling laws.
Mnangwana’ remarks follow Malema’s statement to South African media last week where he claimed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sold out the country’s liberation struggle by deciding to compensate white farmers. Malema said then:
It’s a sell-out position. The way he (Mnangagwa) is going about it, he is not going to finish his term.
That country is swimming in a pool of poverty; they can’t afford basic things like primary health, proper education and infrastructure.
He gets money and goes to give it to people who are not deserving. He is reversing the gains of the revolutionary struggle. It’s unsustainable.
Recently, leader of South Africa’s opposition in Parliament, Federal leader of the Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane threatened to take Zimbabwe to the United Nations and International Criminal Court over the government’s January brutal crackdown on protestors.