…face chop for resisting ED third term agenda
…development suffers as succession factional fights take centre stage
By Beverly Bizeki
A faction in Zanu PF pushing for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to have a third term has come out guns blazing pushing for the ouster of young party parliamentarians whom they accuse of sabotaging the 2030 agenda as well as lacking the party ideology, TellZim can reveal.
Speaking to TellZim News on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization, some Members of Parliament (MPs) said they were living in constant fear as the party heavyweights were pushing for their ouster, and the problem started when Zanu PF almost lost to opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) when they voted for the Public Voluntary Organisation (PVO) bill in parliament.
“Tiri panguva yakaoma (we are in difficult times); the problem started when we voted for the PVO bill in parliament and Zanu almost lost to opposition. It was later realized that most of the young MPs from the party had just logged in and went out.
“We are now being accused of resisting the push for President to have another term as well as lacking party ideology. There biggest fear is, if the opposition MPs move motion to impeach the President, they think we will support that,” said one youthful MP.
Another Zanu PF legislator, who claims to be a war veteran, confirmed that the young MPs were betraying the party.
“They have no ideology; they are dealers so what they do is, they come to Parliament and sign the register and after that they get in town to run their errands. We almost lost to CCC legislators when we voted for the PVO bill. Something needs to be done or else the party is in serious problem,” he said.
However, the Zanu PF chief whip Pupurai Togarepi who is also the MP for Gutu South downplayed the factional fights in the ruling party saying the Zanu PF had trust in its legislators.
“All our MPs are cadres of the party who were deployed to represent Zanu PF in parliament because of their loyalty and consistency. All our MPs have gone through several ideological orientation through the Chitepo School of Ideology which makes them very sound and grounded. The leadership is happy with the performance of the young MPs. I urge you to ignore the nonsense coming from uninformed sources,” said Togarepi.
Eight provinces had since endorsed Mnangagwa to extend his term beyond 2028, though the President indicated that he will step down at the end of his second term. The call for a third term from Mnangagwa’s supporters has deeply divided Zanu PF, with those resisting the extension allegedly being targeted to be chopped off.
However, the succession fights started barely a year after the elections and this has negatively affected development in the country, with the economy showing no signs of growth and stability.
Media lecturer and political analyst Dr Wellington Gadzikwa said the succession disputes existing within the ruling party could mean no development for the country for the next four years.
“The nature of our election which is after every five years derail development in that politicians only do something in the first two years and only come back to the electorate seeking reelection hence anti-development. Now that there are succession disputes in Zanu PF we are less likely to see anything meaningful (in terms of development) during this term unlike in the President’s first term.
“This term is likely going to be filled by third term politics and this is further made worse by the lack of a true opposition in the country. There is a lot of uncertainties in the country,” said Dr Gadzikwa.
University of Zimbabwe Lecturer Professor Eldred Masunungure weighed in and said the ruling party was likely to engage in power games foregoing development and said factionalism was imminent which he said was bad for national development.
“The sad reality is that the infatuation with power at the apex of the ruling party is something that goes back to the founding of the party and succession-induced gladiation for power is one of the hallmarks of the organisation. Power, and gaining or retaining it supersedes everything else including national development; that is, development plays second fiddle to power games. It is indeed weird but not unprecedented for Zanu PF to start playing these power games soon after the last election and not necessarily towards the next election,” said Prof Masunungure.
“Another tragic consequence of these games of power is that they will be fought along factional lines not only in the party but also in the state. State structures will be infected by the factionalism virus leading to dysfunctionality or compromised performance in terms of delivery of national policies and programmes. This will be likely so for the next four years thus paralyzing policy formation and implementation. State employees, especially at the top level will be pigeon-holed into factional camps and this will poison their working relationships. In short succession-fed factionalism is bad for national development,” Prof Masunungure added.
Another political commentator Dr Gift Gwindingwe said competition in the party was imminent but however said the country was likely to witness meaningful development as the ruling party tries to market itself for the next election in 2028.
“I foresee a political field that is explosive within Zanu PF with individuals strategically positioning themselves. We have those with realistic chances of getting into the party presidium and those who have little or no hope of getting into the party presidium and these will strategically position themselves closer with direct overtures. There is likely going to be jostling for positions at both levels.
“So with this democratic space opened by the President’s pronouncement to rest after the expiry of his second term, there is likely to be intense competition. But the good thing is that there will be an elective congress.
“I actually foresee meaningful development so that the ruling government markets itself astutely for the watershed 2028 election. Politics and development are inseparable so there is a mathematical line between the two. The ruling Zanu PF government cannot afford to go to sleep at this moment because outside, other political competitors are sharpening their ‘swords’ as well,” said Dr Gwindingwe.
Despite the ongoing debates on whether or not Mnangagwa was going to retire and his party supporters pushing for a third term, legal experts with the likes of Professor Lovemore Madhuku have said this was a pipeline dream for the party supporters, saying it was a little too late to change the constitution.
