ZANU PF Manicaland province has given the former Reserve Bank (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono the green light to represent the party at Senate level following the death Kumbirai Kangai.
Staff Reporter
The provincial chairman Ambassador John Mvundura confirmed to NewsDay yesterday that the provincial co-ordination committee (PCC) unanimously selected Gono to fill the vacant Senate post.
Gono left the RBZ at the end of November after completing two five-year terms at the central bank.
“I can confirm that Manicaland unanimously agreed to have the vacant seat be filled by Gono,” he said. “On Saturday, we held two meetings, the first one was the provincial executive council where it was unanimously agreed that he should take the post. We said his contribution is well known, his experience is known then we agreed that we need his calibre. We then took that to the PCC and again the decision was adopted.”
Provincial spokesperson Supa Mandiwanzira also confirmed the development.
“I can confirm that the PCC that met on Saturday endorsed submissions by Buhera district that the late Kumbirai Kangai’s Senatorial seat be taken up by somebody from Buhera district. They had recommended Gideon Gono as their choice,” Mandiwanzira said.
“The PCC then accepted the recommendation and adopted it as theirs.”
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Mandiwanzira added that in the PCC there was debate on whether this was in line with Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) requirements given that Gono was not on the list that was presented to the election body at the Nomination Court.
According to sources, other members were of the view that Shadreck Chipanga should fill the vacant post as he was part of the list submitted to Zec.
“We had two lawyers in the meeting (provincial secretary for legal affairs Misheck Mugadza and youth league boss Kelvin Manyengavana), who both advised us that there was nothing amiss in the party considering Gono for the position as that list was no longer relevant,” he said.
Mandiwanzira said the PCC meeting spoke strongly about factionalism within the party.
There are two perceived rival camps in Manicaland, one that is allegedly led by Didymus Mutasa and the other one by Oppah Muchinguri.
“The meeting condemned factionalism within the party and urged all the leadership and supporters in the party to focus on implementing the Zim Asset and avoid being used by politicians with factional interest,” he said.
