The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Monday, October 12, 1992 — President Mugabe has once again taken a swipe on members of Zanu-PF who oppose some party policies and has called on them to resign from the party.

“Let some of our egoistic and individualistic Members of Parliament, therefore, make their choice now and leave the majority of us who want to be bound by party decisions, policies and principles to go on with the party without them.

“No party, least of all Zanu-PF, can tolerate either arrogant and strident individualism, or unbridled egotism which is outrageously and deliberately a defiance of the authority of that party.

“We are a party of principles and procedures, a party with a given tradition of democracy enshrining disciplined behaviour.”

The party had followed a system of democratic centralism where members were free to express themselves on subjects on the agenda. But in the end, the party adopted the view of the majority as the binding decision to be followed by everybody.

When he addressed the party’s national consultative assembly last year, he accused some party members of setting themselves as an opposition group and were nearly becoming rebels. This year he singled out Cdes Sydney Malunga, Lazarus Nzarayebani and Byron Hove as discordant voices in the party.

Cde Malunga’s name cropped up again early this week when Cde Mugabe was addressing a Press conference. This time it was on the issue of governors, whose payment Cde Malunga and others were trying to stop.

When Cde Mugabe said those who were against party policies should resign, Cde Malunga who was sitting at the back of the hall, a typical back-bencher, appeared unperturbed as he jotted down some notes.