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Mutambara boasts about power

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CHINHOYI Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who leads a smaller faction of the MDC, has bragged that he is calling the shots in the inclusive government despite being lesser among the three principals. Presenting a public lecture at the Chinhoyi University of Technology last week, Mutambara said both President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan […]

CHINHOYI Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who leads a smaller faction of the MDC, has bragged that he is calling the shots in the inclusive government despite being lesser among the three principals.

Presenting a public lecture at the Chinhoyi University of Technology last week, Mutambara said both President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai always consulted him before making key decisions.

He attributed the trust the two leaders had in him to the power of smallness.

There is what is called the power of smallness, Mutambara said.

Because I am not a threat to President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai, they both come to me to ask. Whatever I say, they get to listen. I am the small Mutambara, but I am ruling and running Zimbabwe.

Mutambara, who is a principal to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that gave birth to the unity government, also claimed he would oftentimes be assigned by Mugabe to write minutes of the principals meetings.

Many times the three of us (principals) hold meetings where there would be no secretary to take minutes, he said.

Being the small, the young one, Mugabe says: Go and write the minutes, and guess what, I write what I want and it means Im ruling, Mutambara said, adding that people had to be wary of media reports surrounding the GPA principals meetings.

The robotics professor said talk of elections this year or in 2013 by both Mugabe and Tsvangirai was political grandstanding as there has never been debate on elections brought forward during principals meetings.

Mutambara was toppled from the leadership of the MDC last year by Industry and Commerce minister Welshman Ncube.

But he refused to give up his post in the inclusive government and has been backed by Mugabe and Tsvangirai in his fight against Ncube.