THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 10, 2017- Topic 2

Zimbabwean stakes

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s decision to fire his Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, citing disloyalty and deceitfulness, has triggered another political crisis ahead of next year’s presidential election. Mr. Mnangagwa was Mr. Mugabe’s right-hand man in the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) and was widely tipped to be his successor. 

But there were murmurs in recent months that Mr. Mnangagwa and Grace Mugabe, the President’s second wife, were involved in a shadow fight for influence. The Zanu-PF has announced that the 93-year-old Mr. Mugabe will be its presidential candidate for next year’s election. But given his age and health, in the event of a victory the Vice-President’s post would set up the incumbent for the big succession. By firing Mr. Mnangagwa, Mr. Mugabe appears to have turned the tide in favour of his wife. Ruling party factions have started promoting Ms. Mugabe’s name as the next Vice-President and the party is expected to make an announcement next month. The Zanu-PF has also launched a crackdown on those who were linked to Mr. Mnangagwa, who has fled the country. Mr. Mnangagwa’s exit could hurt the President politically. He has been a heavyweight in the faction-ridden Zanu-PF for a long time. He is being alienated at a time when a seven-party Opposition alliance was planning a joint candidate against Mr. Mugabe to capitalise on the widespread public discord over economic miseries.

Mr. Mugabe, a former Marxist guerrilla who came to power in 1980 riding on strong anti-colonial sentiments and promises to reshape the country’s future, has instead overseen a rapid deterioration of the economy in recent years. Following unbridled hyperinflation, Zimbabwe had to scrap its dollar altogether in 2015 and adopt a multi-currency system, which has done little to ease cash shortages. The country’s infrastructure is crumbling and government services are a shambles. But public resentment and opposition unity may not necessarily lead to Mr. Mugabe’s electoral defeat. In the 37 years of his rule he has shown that he enjoys considerable support, particularly among the black working population, and is ready to go to any extreme to retain his grip on power. Barring a brief period when he was forced to reach a power-sharing agreement with the opposition, Mr. Mugabe has largely had his own way in governance. The stakes are high in the coming election, with Ms. Mugabe having publicly expressed her desire to succeed the President and the Zanu-PF facing a split after Mr. Mnangagwa’s expulsion. All this points to more chaos, at a time when the government’s focus should be on addressing the economic challenges. For his part, Mr. Mugabe should allow a free and fair election to take place next year and ensure a smooth transition of power, both within the party and in the government. It’s time he finally acted like a statesman.

Vocabulary

Disloyalty: the quality of not being loyal to a person, country, or organization.

Example: An accusation of disloyalty and betrayal

Synonyms: unfaithfulness, infidelity, inconstancy, faithlessness, fickleness

Murmur: a soft, indistinct sound made by a person or group of people speaking quietly or at a distance.

Example: His voice was little more than a murmur

Influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.

Example: The influence of television violence

Synonyms: effect, impact, control, sway, hold, power, authority, mastery

Incumbent: necessary for someone as a duty or responsibility.

Example: It is incumbent on all decent people to concentrate on destroying this evil

Synonyms: necessary for one to, essential that, required that, imperative that

Crackdown: severe measures to restrict or discourage undesirable or illegal people or behavior.

Example: A crackdown on crime and corruption

Alienate: transfer ownership of (property rights) to another person or group.

Example: Consequently, unless the plaintiff alienated his ownership, he has been the owner of the case since it came into being.

Synonyms: estrange, divide, distance, put at a distance, isolate, cut off

Deterioration: the process of becoming progressively worse.

Example: A deterioration in the condition of the patient

Synonyms: decline, collapse, failure, drop, downturn, slump, slip, retrogression

Crumble: break or fall apart into small fragments, especially over a period of time as part of a process of deterioration.

Example: The plaster started to crumble

Synonyms: disintegrate, fall apart, fall to pieces, fall down, break up, collapse

Retain: continue to have something.

Example: Built in 1830, the house retains many of its original features

Synonyms: keep, keep possession of, keep hold of, hold on to, hang on to

Expulsion: the action of depriving someone of membership in an organization.

Example: Expulsion from school

Synonyms: removal, debarment, dismissal, exclusion, discharge

Transition: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

Example: Students in transition from one program to another

Synonyms: change, passage, move, transformation, conversion, metamorphosis