Maravi

(HERALD) Mujuru, Nkomo land VP posts

Mujuru, Nkomo land VP posts
By Lloyd Gumbo

ZANU-PF national chairman Cde John Nkomo has all but wrapped the Vice-Presidency after winning support from six provinces that nominated him as the ideal candidate to fill the post that fell vacant following the death of fearless founding nationalist, Vice President Joseph Msika, in August.

Bulawayo, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Masvi-ngo, Matabeleland South and North have already confirmed Cde Nkomo despite the latter submitting two nominations for the post.

This means the two posts of Vice-President are all but secured after VP Mujuru received the endorsement of eight provinces apart from Masvingo, which nominated Cde Oppah Muchinguri, and Midlands, which was still to nominate candidates.

In an interview yesterday, Zanu-PF secretary for administration Cde Didymus Mutasa said the nominations had gone well and in line with party procedures.

He, however, said the Midlands Province — which did not sit for the nominations last week — had not officially communicated to him their position and thus he expected nominations from all provinces by the end of this week as outlined in the guidelines.

A senior party official in Matabeleland North who spoke on condition of anonymity said the province had nominated two candidates for each post — VP and chairman — because some cadres refused to go for a vote to nominate the two candidates only and decided to submit all the four names.

Attention has now been turned to the chairmanship race where a fierce tussle is now expected among senior party cadres — Cdes Mutasa, Simon Khaya Moyo, Obert Mpofu and Kembo Mohadi.

However, a political analyst yesterday argued that the real race was between Cde Mutasa and Cde Khaya Moyo with the former counting on yet to nominate provinces.

He lamented failure by other provinces to nominate candidates for the VP and national chairman posts, saying this was tantamount to "match-fixing" as their choices would be influenced by other provinces.

He argued that the rule was that all provinces should nominate at the same time to avoid cases of undue influence from other provinces as their choices were to be autonomous.

"The real battle is between Cde Mutasa and Cde Khaya Moyo without taking anything away from the other cadres.

"To me, these are the comrades who are contending for the post seriously. However, concern is around the failure by other provinces to nominate candidates to fill such posts as VP and chairman.

"Cde Mutasa will obviously be counting on yet to nominate provinces, especially Harare, Mash East and West and Midlands, because information on the ground is that these provinces are supporting him, while Cde Khaya Moyo will keep his fingers crossed for Masvingo and Mat North to change their minds."

In separate interviews, Cde Amos Midzi (Harare) and Cde Ignatius Chombo (Mashonaland West) said they were awaiting Matabeleland region to advise them on their nominations.

Cde Midzi — who is the Zanu-PF provincial chairman for Harare — said they deferred their nominations for the two posts to allow Matabeleland region to nominate as per party guidelines.

"We are still waiting for official communication from our colleagues on what position to take. Matabeleland hasn’t officially communicated their position, so we will wait.

"We don’t rely on unofficial information which comes through newspapers. The party has structures of communication," Cde Midzi said.

Cde Chombo, who is the party’s provincial secretary for lands in Mashonaland West, said they were also awaiting indications from Matabeleland region before carrying out their own verifications.

He was, however, confident that they would be able to meet Saturday’s deadline when the nominations would be submitted to the party’s secretary for administration.

"Nothing has been officially communicated from Matabeleland as of now on whom they have nominated for the two posts.

"However, we are confident that we will complete the process within the time stipulated by the secretary for administration," Cde Chombo said.

Nominations for the Presidium and Central Committee members began on Saturday and full lists are expected on Saturday when the secretary for administration receives them from the provinces.

Labels: JOICE MUJURU

posted by MrK @ 12:18 PM