Any actions
that go against the collective position of Zanu-PF, worse those initiated and
pushed by people outside or expelled from the party, Cde Ziyambi said, would
not succeed.
Speaking at a
Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting in
Chegutu, Cde Ziyambi said the impeachment route was a futile sequel to the
abortive March 31 protests.
“We thank
Zanu-PF members and the citizens at large for ignoring the calls for street
protests on March 31 called for by the expelled (Blessed) Geza,” said Cde
Ziyambi who is also Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
“Now that they
realised the dismal failure of their plan, they are now at sixes and sevens and
even hallucinating that they now want to go to Parliament to initiate
impeachment proceedings against the President.”
He said
constitutional provisions made it difficult for individuals to pursue selfish
interests against the broader citizenry that is represented by their MPs in
Parliament.
“Let me tell
you our system in Parliament and be wary of lies they will spew out there. In
Zimbabwe, according to our Constitution, the Parliament system is party-based
and as such, Cdes (Webster) Shamu, (Polite) Kambamura, (Marian) Chombo,
(Shacky) Timburwa and the deputy chief whip (Chinjai) Kambuzuma here, we do not
have a mind of our own that we will share at Parliament outside party ideology.
We toe the party line. That is why we have the whipping system,” explained Cde
Ziyambi.
“Here in
Mashonaland West Province, for instance, we have the deputy party chief whip
Cde Chinjai Kambuzuma. When she is in Parliament, her role is to wield an
invisible whip. During debates, these parliamentarians know that when the chief
whip stands up, that is the party position.”
He said
indications that a motion would be raised in Parliament to impeach the
President would need to pass the Party Parliamentary System and the whipping
system, which ensures positions agreed upon by the lower levels of the party
were upheld at the legislative level.
“So there is no
way I can pursue my interests as ZZ or JJ in Parliament. Now when you are
thrown out of the party like what happened to (Blessed) Geza and then you say
you want to talk to the party members who refused to go into the streets to do
what you wanted, where do you get the people?
“So when you
hear them speak on social media about their intentions you should laugh at them
as no such shenanigans can succeed in Zimbabwe. If you want to move a motion,
you go to the chief whip and present it and he agrees to the motion on behalf
of the party,” further explained Cde Ziyambi.
Without the
Chief Whip’s consent, he said, the matter suffers a stillbirth.
Cde Ziyambi
said the Constitution has a recall clause, which parties can activate when
members they sponsored into Parliament no longer serve the party’s interests.
“I am saying
that anyone or MP who is identified as being Zanu-PF and decides to pursue
interests other than those of Zanu-PF, then the same Zanu-PF will recall him or
her and put someone who will do Zanu-PF’s bidding,” said Cde Ziyambi.
“So there is no
MP in this country and the Constitution of Zimbabwe who will stand up and do
things contrary to what the party has sent him to do at Parliament. The party
in our collective as we are right now decides and it filters up to higher
levels.”
MPs in
Parliament, he said, were given direction by resolutions of the party’s
People’s Conference, Congress or as directed by the Central Committee.
As such, said
Cde Ziyambi, no Zanu-PF member could be used by someone outside its structures
and expect to survive the recall clause.
“If you think
you are bigger than the party you will be thrown out of the window. That is why
you hear the President saying Zanu-PF is a pocket big enough to fit everyone
but you can’t fit it into your pocket. It will burn you.
“I have come to
assure you to sleep peacefully as Parliament is a no-go area and also there is
no secret ballot in Parliament. If there is a deadlock during debate leading to
a divided House, the party chief whips stand up with members of their parties,”
said Cde Ziyambi.
There is no
secret ballot or voting as respective parties take down the names of their
members.
“The chief
whips take down their members’ names and that is the voting process. There is
no X in Parliament. Those hallucinating on social media are ignorant of how the
parliamentary system works.
“It is very
difficult for an individual to act outside an agreed party position. What is
happening now shows that those pushing their agenda have now run out of ideas.
They are coming to a dead end,” he said.
Long-serving
Senate President and now a member of the Elders Council Cde Edna Madzongwe
reaffirmed the position.
“I was in
Parliament for more than 20 years, the greater part as Senate President and I
would like to agree with Cde Ziyambi that if you are a Zanu-PF member, you
cannot do anything that is anti-Zanu-PF,” she said. Herald
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