MDC-T Masvingo provincial chairperson James Gumbi has vowed
to impose candidates of his choice for the forthcoming local governance and
national assembly elections saying no one has the power to stop him.
Gumbi, who claimed that he influenced the late MDC-T leader
Morgan Tsvangirai to appoint Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri as vice
presidents in 2016, said there is no one who is qualified to tell him what to
do when it comes to the selection of candidates to represent the party in the
province in the upcoming elections.
Addressing aspiring MPs and councillors at party provincial
offices in Rhodene over the weekend following a chaotic candidates selections
process a few days before, Gumbi said the buck stopped with him.
He made it clear that no one would make it onto the
candidates' line up without his blessings.
Gumbi seemed to have this courage from the claims he made
that he footed the late Tsvangirai's medical bills as well as influencing the
appointment of Chamisa and Mudzuri as VPs.
"If you want to get a post, you have to go through me;
the bucks stops with me. I footed Tsvangirai's medical bills and facilitated
him to go to South Africa for treatment. I also influenced the appointment of
Chamisa and Mudzuri in 2016," said Gumbi.
"I have the final say; I'm the one who put the final
signature and no one even from national can tell me what to do. Councillor
(Daniel) Mberikunashe (Ward 5 Masvingo Urban), if you think you will get an
automatic entry because you are close to president Chamisa, think again. The
buck stops with me in the province, I will decide," he added.
Mberikunashe is closely related to MDC-T president Chamisa.
MDC-T Masvingo province is locked in bitter candidate
selection processes which has seen the controversial removal of all sitting councillors
from the candidates list ahead of the upcoming general elections.
The move threatens to shake the grass root support base of
the party, with many people saying the councillors should be allowed to run
again or should at least be allowed to take part in fair primaries. Tell zimbabwe
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