Former Gutu South MP, Dr Paul Chimedza worked as Minister
of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs for less than a month, with Operation
Restore Legacy finding him in the 'wrong basket'. He has now retreated to his
medical business and has largely been absent from the public limelight ever
since.
TellZim News editor Moses Ziyambi (MZ) caught up with
Chimedza (PC) for a detailed interview with the man whose dramatic rise to the
top briefly made him an enormously powerful political figure in the province.
MZ: It is said some people in Gutu South still want you to
be their MP post 2018. Are you considering standing as an independent?
PC: I am most humbled by the love and huge support I
continue to get from the people of Gutu South. It is amazing. I have had
several delegations from Gutu South constituency asking me to stand as an
independent candidate or NPF candidate or NPP candidate but I have respectively
declined. I don't believe there is much value in being a lone ranger in
parliament.
I could be an MP yes but I would not be able to serve the
people well as an independent MP. So I am taking a sabbatical in politics and
for the next five years I will be watching from the terraces. I'm not
abandoning the people of Gutu South who stood by me so resolutely under very
difficult conditions.
I will continue to serve them but not in the office of
Member of Parliament. For now I will take this opportunity to spend more time
with my family and also serving my patients. I am enjoying my peace and
tranquility.
MZ: How do you rate the President Munangagwa's performance
so far?
PC: I know the President personally and I know him to be a
sincere and hardworking man. One thing you can't take away from him is that he
understands business and he is receptive to ideas from this sector. We have all
seen the energy he is putting to bring foreign direct investment into the
country and the work he is doing to turn around the economy. Yes some people
want results and want results now, but results only follow as a result of
effort and the President has put over 150 percent of that to get the nation
back onto the rails. None of us is perfect but I strongly believe if we all
give our President the support he requires and are patient with him, Zimbabwe
will get the economic transformation it requires.
PC: Others who saw you giving solidarity remarks after the
death of Morgan Tsvangirai took it as an indication you were going to join
MDC-T. What are the chances?
PC: (Laughs) The chances of me joining MDC are zero. Though
I have respect for them as a political party our DNA is different. My DNA is
that of Zanu PF. Everyone went to pay their last respects to Morgan Tsvangirai;
from the President, the two Vice Presidents, and the chairperson of Zanu PF.
The chairperson Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri even went to Tsvangirai's
homestead in Buhera. Are you now saying Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri is now MDC-T
because vakanobata maoko? It is the African thing to do to mourn with the
bereaved. I did just that and so did everyone else. I have not joined the
MDC-T.
MZ: Some have said all expelled 'G40s' now have a political
home in Mutinhiri's NPF. Do you see a future for yourself there?
PC: Everyone has a democratic right to form a political
party and General Mutinhiri and company exercised that right and I respect them
for that. However I am not a member of NPF or any other political outfit. I
have a political home which is Zanu PF. Although I am not at home at the
moment, I will be back kana chitarafu chapera.
MZ: Who then among your former colleagues expelled from
Zanu PF has joined NPF or intends to do so?
PC: As to who is in NPF and who is not, that I cannot
answer because I have no knowledge of what goes on inside that party. All I
know is that am not part of NPF.
MZ: Some sections of Zanu PF; commissariat and war
veterans, have said they want certain 'G40s' to be forgiven and brought back
into the party immediately. Would you take the opportunity?
PC: I'm not sure if I'm part of the 'certain G40s' to be
forgiven and brought back into the party. It is always a joy when everyone one
is working together and pulling in one direction with no suspensions or
expulsions or bitter fights.
I presume that the comrades in the commissariat and our war
veterans have a vision of such a united party and it's totally understandable
because this group has always been revolutionary. Other comrades are also still
aggrieved because of the bitter factional fights that occurred and it's also
totally understandable. I joined Zanu PF voluntarily and genuinely believing in
what the party stood for. So my heart is with Zanu PF. If the party wants me
back, then that development will be more than welcome although I will still
take a back seat for now.
MZ: What would your political plans be if, firstly, you
will not stand as an independent, secondly, you will not join MDC-T, NPF or any
other opposition political party and thirdly, if you fail to get back into Zanu
PF.
PC: I have plans but they are just not political plans.
Like I said I am taking a sabbatical from politics. I will take this opportunity to spend more
time with my family. I am currently enjoying practicing medicine very much. I
am seeing patients I had not seen in a while because of my previously hectic
political schedule and I am loving it. I am also enjoying my peace and
tranquility. For now I am more than content watching the political game from
the terraces.
MZ: The projects you had initiated in Gutu are rotting. Are
there chances they will be completed?
PC: I started working for the people of Gutu South
constituency way before I became MP and I am not about to stop now. There are
several initiatives that I had undertaken as MP; from constructing classroom
blocks, administration blocks and clinics, to the electrification of many
schools. All these will have to be completed.
I will be willing to assist whoever is elected MP to complete the
projects. Fortunately, one doesn't need a license or permission to do
development work in your home area although it's easier to coordinate if you
are the MP.
MZ: It is said the people who engineered your expulsion
from Zanu PF are Lovemore Matuke and Ezra Chadzamira. What is your relationship
with these two?
PC: (Laughs) No, I don't believe that is a true
representation of facts. To take decisions made at a properly constituted
central committee meeting and then attribute them to these two comrades will be
grossly unfair.
That decision was a party decision and not an individual
one. Yes there might have been political contestation here and there but there
is certainly no bad blood at all between me and the chairman or the chief whip.
You have got to understand that this is politics there are
no permanent friends or enemies but permanent interests. I have met Cde Matuke
several times and we talk and laugh about
everything that happened. They are
both mature politicians who will never take these things personally.
MZ: It was often said you were enemies with the late Shuvai
Mahofa whom you succeeded both in Gutu South and at Benjamin Burombo House. How
far true is that and how do you relate with her brother Josaya Hungwe who is
now Minister of State?
PC: (Laughs) My feud with the late Hon Senator Shuvai
Mahofa, may her soul rest in peace, was in the public domain. I wouldn't,
however, say that we were enemies. There are times when we worked together very
well on different party programmes. What you all got to see were just the
fights. I learnt a lot politically from the Senator, she knew when to fight and
when to cooperate or unite for a common purpose. She was fearless. I quickly
matured in politics because I had a vicious sparring partner in her. Despite
the seeming incessant arguments, I had a lot of respect for the late Senator.
She knew how to correctly read where the political wind would be blowing, her
political survival instincts were very sharp...something which I obviously
should have learnt from her.
As for Hon Senator Hungwe I have no issues with him at all
personally. I have total respect for him semukuru weprovince both in government
(as the Minister of State) and also kuparty. He has a lot of wisdom acquired
over years of political experience. He is a man who genuinely wants to unite
the province. I feel greatly privileged to have sat in the same office (that of
Minister of State for Provincial affairs) albeit for a short time with the
province's political heavyweights at a very young age. So there is no bad blood
at all between us. If it was up to Cde Hungwe alone, I believe I probably would
still be in Zanu PF today.
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