Zanu-PF factions seek to finish each other off

So bad have the dog eat dog tribal factional and succession wars that are devouring president Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF become ,that some insiders say the party's annual conference which underway in Masvingo this week could make or break former liberation movement. Some sources said they feared the party's worsening infighting had now reached such an alarming level that the former liberation movement.

Steady implosion could accelerate significantly after the Masvingo get together. Zanu-PF is currently split into two distinct factions –with a group of young Turks operating under the name generation 40 working hard to stop vice president Emerson Mnangagwa from succeeding Mugabe, while the midlands godfather is supported by a camp known as team Lacoste.

Meanwhile, Mugabe's advance security team has descended on Masvingo, with the city teeming with State security agents deployed for the conference, which opens tomorrow.

The security forces were on high alert to avert disruptions by rival Zanu-PF factions and the potential for recurrent demonstrations by ordinary residents against Mugabe's alleged misgovernance and continued stay in power.

The Zanu PF government has also beefed up its security for fear of violent clashes among its warring factions.

So tense was the situation in Masvingo yesterday that residents were barred from moving in large groups.

"We have been condemned to a curfew by the security details. They just harass us if they see us in groups," a reveller at a local spot, who declined to be named, said.

Opposition parties have accused Zanu-PF of being insensitive by splashing millions of dollars on its annual jamboree at a time when over four million Zimbabweans were in dire need of food aid following a poor summer cropping season this year.

The country is also reeling from a recurrent financial and economic crisis, with cash shortages being the order of the day at most financial institutions.