HARARE – Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF is reportedly embroiled in fresh infighting, as war veterans who were instrumental in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rise want former cabinet ministers kicked out from the party.
According to Daily News, the southern African country’s 1970s liberation fighters accused the former ministers of corruption and undermining Mnangagwa’s plans to revive the nation’s moribund economy.
Unnamed Zanu-PF insiders were quoted as saying that the former ministers who were now stationed at the party headquarters could become victims of the “disgruntled” war veterans who were envious of their pecks.
The ruling party heavyweights were said to be earning salaries equivalent to government ministers.
The former liberation fighters had since threatened to storm the Zanu-PF headquarters and remove the targeted officials if the party failed to take action.
Constitutional mandate
“Consequently in pursuit of our constitutional mandate as custodians of the Zimbabwean people’s revolution, as patriots, loyal and stakeholders of Zanu-PF, we demand, as we hereby do, through the copy of this petition, that the following members relinquish their posts and vacate offices at the Zanu-PF headquarters with immediate effect.
“Failure to do so, we – as the veterans of the liberation struggle – shall force them out of the offices for good of the people revolution,” Daily News quoted the ex-freedom fighters as saying.
The state-owned Herald newspaper reported last month that several ministers who did not make the cut into Zimbabwe’s new cabinet were deployed to the ruling Zanu-PF headquarters on a full-time basis.
Zanu-PF’s secretary for information and publicity Simon Khaya Moyo was quoted at the time as saying that at least 11 departments of the party were now expected to be managed by full-time employees who included ex-ministers.
Petition
The party stalwarts were expected to undergo training in China and the sub-region to learn how other political parties related to government.
But, war veterans from the country’s ten provinces reportedly petitioned Mnangagwa, demanding the removal of Zanu-PF’s secretary for administration Obert Mpofu and former ministers David Parirenyatwa, Patrick Chinamasa and Sydney Sekeramayi – who were part of the party’s politburo, said Daily News reported.
War veterans’ national spokesperson Douglas Mahiya has, however, rubbished the petition, saying that he was not aware of such moves as he had been out of the country.
