Faction riddled Zanu-PF restructures Bulawayo Province

Zanu-PF has restructured its Bulawayo province with the Politburo yesterday appointing Callistus Ndlovu as the new provincial chairman, taking over from Killian Sibanda.

The party also discussed its elections manifesto with indications that the document had been completed.

Zanu-PF moved to a later date discussing rules and regulations to guide it in selecting candidates to represent the revolutionary party in harmonised elections this year.

Sibanda now deputises Ndlovu following the restructuring with the party assigning its national chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo to visit all its provinces and investigate challenges being faced as it gears for polls.

Moyo is expected to visit Manicaland province soon amid indications that a team from that province recently petitioned President Mugabe over the state of the party.

Briefing journalists in Harare on the Politburo meeting, Zanu-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said a number of issues would be finalised soon.

"We received a report on Bulawayo from the national chairman. On challenges in Bulawayo, we resolved that we need to expand the provincial executive. We will have Callistus Ndlovu as the chairman and Killian Sibanda becomes deputy chairman. The national chairman will also look at the challenges in Manicaland."

On challenges in Bulawayo, Gumbo said "the people were not happy about certain people and personalities and the party was not connecting well".

Ndlovu is a Central Committee member and a former Cabinet Minister while Sibanda was elected Bulawayo provincial chairperson last year, replacing Isaac Dakamela who had been suspended.

Gumbo confirmed that a delegation from Manicaland recently visited President Mugabe and aired their grievances against some members of the party.

"The President received a delegation from Manicaland and they presented a petition. They came to see him and presented their case," Gumbo said.

He said Zanu-PF was facing challenges in some provinces like any organisation of its size, but dismissed claims of an implosion in the revolutionary party.

"In any phenomenon there are contradictions. We have, as a party, non-antagonistic contradictions but they are not that serious. We are as strong as ever," Gumbo said.

The Politburo also got a briefing from Patrick Chinamasa on the re-engagement team's visit to Britain and the Constitution-making process.

"We discussed the Constitution-making process. We are waiting for the Constitution to be presented to Parliament on 7 May," Gumbo said.

The draft Constitution is now a bill after it was gazetted last month.

It has to go through Parliament before the President assents to it to become the national supreme law.

He said the Politburo also heard from Chinamasa that the British had conceded that the dispute between Harare and London was purely bilateral.

The British are said to have indicated to the re-engagement team that there would be further talks on mending relations in the near future.

Zanu-PF's Chinamasa, Mr Elton Mangoma of MDC-T and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (MDC) travelled recently to London where they attended re-engagement talks with representatives from countries that imposed illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe among them the US, Canada, Australia and members of the European Union, ironically calling themselves Friends of Zimbabwe.