Zanu-PF chairs disown ‘Tyson communiqué’

MOST Zanu-PF provincial chairpersons yesterday disowned all but one of the resolutions that came out of their Wednesday meeting with national political commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere which they claimed bordered on factionalism.

The Herald is reliably informed that Cde Kasukuwere convened the meeting under the guise that the agenda was to discuss party programmes in 2017.

It has since emerged that the meeting largely dealt with issues far removed from this agenda.

Provincial chairpersons who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were shocked by the so-called resolutions that came out of their meeting with Cde Kasukuwere serve for the one affirming their support for President Mugabe as the 2018 presidential candidate. They said they suspected the national political commissar could have pulled yet another “Mafioso Resolution” on them.

“Those resolutions did not come from the meeting. Akauya akagadzirwa kare,” said a Zanu-PF provincial chairman who attended the meeting.

He went on to explain what happened during the provincial chairpersons’ meeting with Cde Kasukuwere.

“What happened is that what are now called resolutions are issues that were raised by the national political commissar in his opening remarks. We do not have issues with the first part of the reso- lutions which stated that President Mugabe is our sole candidate in the 2018 elections. No. That was unanimously agreed but the rest of the resolutions, I do not know where they came from besides that it was a summary of the national political commissar’s opening remarks,” said the provincial chairman.

“The meeting was supposed to come up with programmes for the party in 2017. Besides the forthcoming Bikita West by-election, the meeting largely dealt with other issues.”

It also emerged that Cde Kasukuwere tried to pressure Midlands provincial deputy chair Cde Daniel Mackenzie Ncube to read the “cooked up resolutions” but he refused.

This was despite the fact that Cde Ncube always reads resolutions at such meetings.

Yesterday Cde Ncube confirmed refusing to read the resolutions.

“I refused to read the resolutions because I did not feel it was right for me to read the resolutions all the time. Why should I always read the resolutions? I am just a deputy chairperson. I am not a chairperson,” he said.

A senior leader of one of the Zanu-PF wings, who also attended the meeting, tried to downplay the resolutions.

The wing leader said it was a routine meeting where the national commissar meets with provincial commissars every Monday to discuss mobilisation issues.

“I think the private media tried to dramatise the meeting by raising issues that were not discussed in the meeting,” he said.

“We wonder who is the source of the story that appeared in the private media and what the source wanted to achieve because what they published is not the correct version of what was discussed in the meeting.”

Zanu-PF Mashonaland East provincial chairman Cde Bernard Makokove, however, claimed the meeting discussed exactly what was published in the privately-owned media.

Asked whether indeed the provincial chairpersons had raised issues to do with Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Cde Makokove responded: “That was what we discussed.”

Masvingo provincial chairperson Cde Amasa Nenjana agreed with some of the resolutions that came from the meeting but dismissed others.

“It was a regular meeting with chairpersons and we discussed issues of party structures. We also discussed other issues where party officials mingle with people who were dismissed from the party. The Energy Mutodi issue also came up. He has no right to call for the removal of President Mugabe. However, in the resolutions we never asked to meet the President.”

He defended Cde Kasukuwere for meeting Mr Temba Mliswa after he won the Norton by-election saying he could not be crucified for “meeting a person not so serious like Mliswa”.

Cde Nenjana did not explain why in his view he considered Mr Mliswa, who went to Parliament at Zanu-PF’s expense, a person “not so serious”.

Mashonaland West provincial chairman Cde Ephraim Chengeta said he did not attend the meeting but was briefed on what transpired.

“The meeting was on the restructuring of party cells and branches. It also reaffirmed our 100 percent support for President Mugabe as the sole party candidate in 2018. As for the other issues now being raised, I was not briefed about them.”

Repeated efforts to get a comment from Cde Kasukuwere were fruitless yesterday.

His deputy, Cde Omega Hungwe, said: “I cannot talk to you on that subject. You have to talk to the national commissar. I bet you I cannot talk about that meeting.”

Bulawayo and Matabeleland South provinces were not represented at the meeting as their chairpersons did not attend.

At its December National Annual People’s Conference held in Masvingo in December, Zanu-PF stressed the need for party unity in its resolutions.

President Mugabe has urged unity in Zanu-PF at almost every occasion he has addressed ruling party members.