ZANU PF national political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, yesterday addressed a stormy provincial meeting in Masvingo, where he reportedly ordered party members aligned to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction to stop boycotting meetings organised by acting provincial chairperson, Amassa Nenjana.
BY TATENDA CHITAGU
Kasukuwere last month suspended three provincial chairpersons Ezra Chadzamira (Masvingo), Joel Biggie Matiza (Mashonaland East), and Kizito Chivamba (Midlands) for alleged disobedience and insolence.
But Chadzamira and his sympathisers in the provincial coordinating committee have refused to recognise Nenjana, accusing Kasukuwere of imposing him in breach of the party’s constitution.
Tempers flared last month when Chadzamira was blocked from speaking on behalf of the hosting province at President Robert Mugabe’s birthday bash held at the Great Zimbabwe Monuments.
Chadzamira’s exclusion at the event riled his backers who of late had resorted to boycotting party meetings organised by Nenjana.
“There were two parallel Zanu PF structures in Masvingo. Nenjana did not get the respect from party members in the Lacoste Faction, who snubbed his meetings. He’s just a chair on paper. The party here was in a state of paralysis and Kasukuwere had to come down,” a party insider who attended yesterday’s meeting, said.
“Initial plans by him (Kasukuwere) were that he would dissolve the PCC and impose G40 members, but we hear he backed down after realising he would have made a grave mistake. He compromised, but just emphasised on the need for unity.”
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Contacted for comment, Kasukuwere said he had “come to check if the PCC members are working for the party”.
“I am responsible for the party structures and I came here to look at the party structures and see if they are united and if they are working for the party. I am happy with the state of affairs in Masvingo. The party is intact and solid. We have to move forward and make progress, working for hunger alleviation,” he said.
Commenting on Chadzamira’s fate, Kasukuwere said the Masvingo West legislator remains suspended, while the party’s disciplinary process “takes its course”.
