
Mugabe alienated war veterans in his last days in power as
he increasingly relied on the younger generation and the new Zanu PF leader is
facing loud demands to reverse the trend in what could be a tough balancing
act.
Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe after the army forced the
93-year-old ruler to resign in dramatic fashion and the congress to be held in
Harare will his first major ruling party assignment.
War veterans made it clear yesterday that they want him to
give them the majority of the posts in the “new Zanu PF” in a move that might
not go well with Mnangagwa’s other backers who did not fight in the liberation
war.
The former fighters were instrumental in fighting for a
Mnangagwa presidency and analysts say it is now pay back time for the new Zanu
PF leader.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans leader Douglass
Mahiya yesterday said former fighters should be appointed to key positions in
Zanu PF as they were custodians of the party’s values.
“…if you appoint someone, the deputy should be a war
veteran,” he said.
“We are reaching the end of our careers; we want to fix the
party and leave it to the young ones.
“Any position that has to do with mobilisation should be
given to a war veteran, as has been the case with my appointment.
Mugabe had created a gap between the war veterans and the
people, treating the war veterans as useless. This has to stop.”
Zanu PF commissar Victor Matemadanda said the special
congress would endorse the elevation of Mnangagwa to party leader and elect him
the presidential candidate for next year’s elections.
“The special congress will endorse the decision of the
previous central committee to elevate President Mnangagwa as the party leader,”
he told The Standard.
“It will also endorse him as the presidential candidate in
next year’s elections.”
However, Matematanda referred questions about the other
agenda items to Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo.
Khaya Moyo said he would only know of the agenda after a
politburo meeting on Tuesday and the central committee meeting scheduled for
Wednesday.
“The politburo will meet on Tuesday and the central
committee on Wednesday, after that I will be aware of the agenda for the
congress,” he said.
But sources said some of the issues to be discussed
included proposals to scrap the one centre of power principle, which allowed
Mugabe to hand-pick the politburo.
War veterans accused former first lady Grace Mugabe of
abusing the principle to usurp her husband’s powers.
“True, there will be amendments to the party’s
constitution,” a Zanu PF senior official said.
“The one centre of power will be removed and the central
committee and provinces executives will have their power back.
“The central committee and provinces will have a say in the
appointment of vice presidents and the issue of a female vice-president will
also be discarded.”
Zanu PF structures that include the women’s league, youth
league and main wing had already endorsed the move while provinces had started
stampeding to endorse the candidature of Grace for the post of VP.
In the past, provinces used to vote for the VPs before
Mugabe secured imperial powers through the one centre of power clause to
hand-pick his deputies.
Mnangagwa himself participated in the crafting of the
clause that gave Mugabe the powers he used to fire him before he was returned
by the military.
“The party will also change the constitution to make sure
that congresses will not be held a year before the elections so that the party
does away with the issue of special congresses,” the source said.
“The party should go for elections with a new team of
elected members.”
This year’s special congress was called by G40, which had
an upper hand then in a bid to use it to deal with Mnangagwa and his backers in
the succession race
The official also said the party was likely to come up with
clauses that will detail the requirements needed for officials to be appointed
in certain positions.
War veterans have been demanding that a Zanu PF commissar
should have liberation war history so that the party’s founding values can be
protected, accusing the former commissar Saviour Kasukuwere of destroying the
party. Standard
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