Mujuru allies purge condemned

ZANU-PF secretary for legal affairs Patrick Chinamasa has urged the Bulawayo province to unite and shun factionalism as the party embarks on its countrywide restructuring programme in preparation for the 2018 elections.

Chinamasa expressed concern at the victimisation of party members who are reportedly linked to former Vice President Joice Mujuru and her allies, saying it was unacceptable in Zanu-PF.

"I believe that one of the major problems that the party is facing in Bulawayo is the existence of divisions. If you can't unite and work together you're simply undermining yourselves. I want to emphasise the importance of working together for the benefit of the party," said Chinamasa who was in Bulawayo to launch the party's restructuring programme.

"We expelled senior party officials from different provinces including Bulawayo and this obviously means that we still have party members who used to work with these people. I want to warn party members against victimising those people because that's not politics."

Chinamasa said the party would not accept witch-hunting and victimisation along factional lines warning party members against making false allegations against each other to settle personal scores.

"Vendetta victimisation doesn't work in our party. That isn't politics. As we move on, we'll be each other's keepers. If we realise that there are people who still follow the path of those who've been expelled, then we follow the appropriate procedures and expel them.

"Let's learn to forgive one another, reconcile and work together for the benefit of the party and the nation," said Chinamasa.

He expressed concern at the slow pace of the restructuring programme in Bulawayo, saying a lot still needed to be done to strenghten the party structures.

"We want to rejuvenate the party structures and meet the demands of the next five years. I'm afraid that Bulawayo province still has a lot of work to do in terms of strengthening the province, especially at cell level.

"Cells are vital because they're the foundation of the party and they determine the strength of the structures. Branches and districts are just icing on the cake," added Chinamasa.

He urged the province to establish a marketing team to promote the party's values and principles and come up with user-friendly strategies to win people from the communities.

Chinamasa also urged the provincial leadership to execute its duties and play an oversight role in restructuring the party.

Turning to the country's economy, Chinamasa, who is also the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, said while the government was deep in debt, the country's potential still remains enormous, with several strategies being employed to revive the economy.

He said in Matabeleland region, efforts were being made to revamp the mining sector, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), the leather industry, the Cold Storage Company (CSC) as well as the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam among other projects.

Speaking at the same occasion, Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko emphasised the need for unity in the province.

He warned the membership against working with the expelled party members, saying the party only accepted committed cadres.

Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Nomthandazo Moyo, Politburo and Central Committee members and the provincial party members attended the meeting.

Chinamasa is expected to re-visit Bulawayo next week to do a practical assessment of the restructuring exercise in the city.