PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa's cabinet reshuffle
has caused consternation in government and Zanu PF as officials believe it was
motivated by the need to consolidate and retain power rather than arresting the
deepening socio-economic crisis or getting rid of corrupt and incompetent
ministers.
Senior government and Zanu PF officials told the Zimbabwe
Independent that Mnangagwa consolidated power by, among other tactics,
appointing his loyalists and increasing the number of Zezuru ministers and
deputy ministers in an ethnic balancing act. This followed complaints that his
Karanga ethnic group had become too powerful in government and the security
sector.
Mnangagwa is from the Midlands province.
Mnangagwa was under pressure to reshuffle cabinet from
senior Zanu PF officials who believe the party is destined for a heavy loss in
the 2023 general elections if government fails to find solutions to the
economic implosion.
Officials are, however, disappointed that ineffective
appointees, like Health minister Obadiah Moyo, retained their cabinet posts
while those implicated in corruption, like Joram Gumbo, are still in
government, as Mnangagwa chose self-preservation ahead of national interest.
“As you are aware, there were complaints that Mnangagwa,
who is from the Midlands, adopted (former president Robert) Mugabe’s model by
surrounding himself with people from his ethnic clan. During Mugabe’s time,
Zezurus were powerful and held key positions, especially in the security
sector. When Mnangagwa assumed power, he made sure that all security sector
commanders are from the Midlands or Masvingo. He also reduced ministerial
appointees from the Mashonaland provinces as he consolidated his grip on
power,” an official said.
“The Zezurus were complaining and, as you know, there is
always a need for ethnic balancing in Zanu PF. As part of his power retention
drive, Mnangagwa has now appointed his Zezuru loyalists to ease the discontent.
He, however, did nothing to get rid of deadwood and corrupt officials to
indicate he wanted to change the country’s fortunes.
“Ministers who have failed to deliver on social issues like
health, water and electricity kept their positions, which is worrying.”
Mnangagwa promoted a key ally, former Information
Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services deputy minister Jenfan
Muswere, to head the ministry.
Government officials say Muswere is close to Mnangagwa’s
son Emmerson Junior and played a key role in the November 2017 coup which
toppled Mugabe and catapulted Mnangagwa to power.
Muswere also helped Mnangagwa to escape from Zimbabwe by
skipping the border into Mozambique enroute to South Africa just before the
coup.
Muswere’s role in the coup was also highlighted in a book
written by Douglas Rogers titled Two Weeks in November. The book, although not
a definitive account of the coup, details what happened prior to and during the
military operation.
“Junior had turned it (his offices) over to Dr Jenfan
Muswere, one of the people who’d helped ED escape, and Jenfan had turned it
into a political command centre for Lacoste operations. They called it The
Pentagon,” Douglas wrote. “One of the reasons so many people had gathered in
the Avenues for the march, it turned out, was because Jenfan had distributed
free fuel, water and printed posters to Lacoste supporters from this very
building.
“Moreover, these past couple of days, assisted by Monica
Mutsvangwa, war veterans and allies in the Youth League, Jenfan had worked with
Zanu PF’s 10 provincial committees to coordinate and drive the resolutions to
recall Mugabe as party leader, reinstate ED and expel Grace and leading members
of G40.”
During the period, Muswere was in constant touch with Mnangagwa
and Junior.
“Muswere communicated progress back to the safe house in
Pretoria where ED and Junior were still poring over the Constitution and
consulting with lawyers as to how to impeach Mugabe. Between calls to the
provinces, Muswere joined the march or watched it from the windows and sent
WhatsApp messages and photos to Junior about the sea of people on the streets
outside,” Douglas wrote.
Muswere was the subject of banter last week after a file
video of him displaying ignorance of artificial intelligence during an
interview at an artificial intelligence conference in Geneva, Switzerland, was
shared on social media.
Mnangagwa split the Ministry of Local Government, Public
Works and National Housing to create National Housing and Social Amenities,
effectively making room for Murehwa North legislator Daniel Garwe.
“Despite being a lawmaker, Garwe made headlines last year
when he earned a wholly suspended two months imprisonment for resisting an
order stopping him from stripping two farms in Harare and Mvuma, as he was
undergoing a nasty divorce with his wife. If he was an ordinary man, he could
have gone to jail,” an official said.
His estranged wife Miriam Garwe had obtained a court order
in June last year, stopping the legislator from taking or disposing of any of
the assets held under the family companies and family trust.
But in defiance, Garwe took away part of the matrimonial
property, prompting the wife to file contempt of court charges against him.
David Musabayana, a former Minister of State for
Mashonaland East province, was appointed deputy Foreign Affairs minister.
Other appointees from the Mashonaland provinces include
Wedza South legislator Tinoda Machakaire, who was appointed Youth deputy
minister and Zvimba North legislator Marian Chombo, who was appointed local
government deputy minister.
Mnangagwa last year tightened his grip on the security
sector by appointing his close ally, Owen Ncube, as State Security minister.
Ncube oversees the Central Intelligence Organsation (CIO), which Mnangagwa put
under the control of his other Midlands ally, Isaac Moyo.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is run by General Philip
Valerio Sibanda and the Air Force of Zimbabwe by Air Marshall Elson Moyo, both
of them Midlanders although with a Zipra background. The Zimbabwe National Army
is headed by Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo, also a Mnangagwa ally from
Masvingo.
All those in charge of the security sector have a
Midlands-Masvingo regional background, Mnangagwa’s own sub-tribe, a reversal of
Mugabe’s Zezuru-centred deployment framework and pattern.
Mnangagwa also used the cabinet reshuffle to replace former
Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Prisca
Mupfumira by appointing Industry minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu to run
the portfolio.
A number of ministers changed portfolios in a case of
musical chairs.
“We however expected him to drop ineffective ministers
among them the Health minister (Moyo) who has shown all and sundry that he has
no capacity to deal with issues affecting his ministry. He has failed to find
solutions to the prolonged doctors’ strike which has exposed government,” a
senior government official said.
Officials expected Mnangagwa to appoint a Health minister
who is respected by the medical profession.
Investigations by the Zimbabwe Independent last year showed
that Moyo was an academic and medical impostor, who is not a registered
practitioner with the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council of Zimbabwe
(MDPCZ).
His decision to reappoint Gumbo, who was recently arrested
by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, before being released without going
to court, has also received criticism.
As Zanu PF’s former chief whip in parliament for many
years, Gumbo played a key role to prop up Mnangagwa by recruiting legislators
to his faction. At the time, Mnangagwa was fighting a faction led by former
vice-president Joice Mujuru.
Ineffective ministers like Transport minister Joel Biggie
Matiza, Home Affairs minister Cain Mathema, Industry minister Mangaliso Ndlovu
also remained in cabinet.
At party level, senior Zanu PF officials remain unconvinced
that the technocrats brought into government are serving a purpose. Senior
officials at party headquarters believe Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, in
particular, has been a disaster. Zimbabwe Independent
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