FRESH allegations have emerged of large sums of money changing hands to influence voting in the Senate regarding the controversial Constitution Amendment No 3 Bill (CAB3).
Impeccable sources claimed that some Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators were paid up to US$10 000 each this week to support the extension of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term proposed in the Bill.
Debate on the Bill, which proposes a raft of changes to the 2013 Constitution, began last week and MPs are expected to decide its fate this week.
Among the most far-reaching proposals is a two-year extension of Mnangagwa’s presidency, which would also see the removal of the direct election of the President.
A week ago, former army generals and senior civil servants, represented by Retired Air Vice-Marshal Henry Muchena, claimed they had evidence that all legislators would receive bribes of up to US$50 000 from a prominent businessman.
While the Bill is expected to sail through during voting in the National Assembly, where Zanu PF enjoys an unassailable majority, the ruling party is short of three senators in the Upper House.
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Some legislators said the ruling party was still not certain about the voting pattern in the Senate and that this could explain the heightened use of money.
Sources said the US$10 000 “bribes” were delivered early this week through a senior official in the faction led by self-imposed CCC secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu.
These alleged bribes follow growing opposition within the CCC of the Bill, specifically regarding the extension of presidential term limits and the scrapping of direct elections for the head of State.
In a surprise turn of events, Tshabangu’s camp previously indicated it would withhold support until Zanu PF agreed to certain demands.
However, some CCC MPs aligned with the controversial interim secretary-general have since defied the party position by openly declaring their support for CAB 3 during National Assembly debates.
On Tuesday, Susan Matsunga, the Budiriro North MP, shocked her party colleagues with her effusive praise for Mnangagwa while supporting the Bill — a piece of legislation that has divided Zanu PF.
Matsunga argued that Mnangagwa should be granted more years in office due to the infrastructure projects he implemented such as the Trabablas Interchange.
“If we look at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport . . . we can see that there is modernisation there because of the development that is happening,” she said.
Notably, Matsunga has been a prominent beneficiary of borehole drilling programmes led by Mnangagwa’s adviser Paul Tungwarara.
Meanwhile, Tshabangu’s spokesperson, Nqobizitha Mlilo, dismissed the allegations that CCC legislators were paid to support the Bill as “petty”.
“To reduce the high-stakes theatre of constitutional negotiation to a petty transactional smear is an indictment of our public discourse,” Mlilo said, adding that the camp was negotiating for substantive changes rather than offering unconditional support.
“We are not voting cows,” Mlilo insisted.
“Zanu PF must pay in the currency of genuine, sincere and meaningful concessions in the national interest.”
He argued that in its current form, the Bill is “unworkable” and that Parliament should not be used to “blindly implement Zanu PF conference resolutions”.
While several opposition MPs continue to publicly oppose the Bill, accusing its supporters of facilitating a Zanu PF agenda, Tshabangu’s camp maintains that its engagement is focused on securing structural political reforms.