All set for Mugabe's Bulawayo interface rally

Zanu-PF heavyweights will be descending on Bulawayo today to announce the date for President Robert Mugabe's ninth presidential youth interface rally.

Zanu-PF youth leader Kudzanai Chipanga said the party leadership is surprised at the support that the rallies have garnered so far from the youths.

"The province told us that they are ready. We have achieved our mission; we never thought that Zanu-PF is that strong.

"We knew we were strong, but we did not know that the youth membership has grown to an extent that the youth movement is now a force to reckon with in the regions."

Amid disquiet over attacks on Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa emanating from members of the Youth League, Chipanga said Zanu-PF has elaborate internal processes to deal with indiscipline.

"We have our internal systems that look into such issues and they will never ignore indiscipline," he said.

This comes after Zanu-PF youth league chairperson for Manicaland Mubuso Chinguno threw down the gauntlet last week, declaring its undying support for First Lady Grace Mugabe to take over the vice presidency from Mnangagwa, whom he described as a cancer eating away the revolutionary party.

The declaration by Chinguno comes two months before a decisive extraordinary congress where Zanu-PF will amend its constitution to accommodate a woman as vice president and second secretary of the party.

Chinguno, who chairs the Manicaland chapter of the league, told the Daily News that Mnangagwa had become "a dangerous cancer eating the party away", adding that they wanted not just another woman but Grace to be vice the president.

In the wake of the damning call, Chinguno has faced charges of embezzlement of funds for a housing project in Chipinge.

"We would like to keep confidence in the corporate world and thus every dollar would be accounted for, we will investigate any reports of misappropriation of funds," Chipanga said.

"It is expected that in any big organisation such as Zanu-PF you will come across challenges, the huge numbers that come to rallies have advantages when it comes to elections but challenges when it comes to logistics, when we are organising transport, some people may try to take advantage of the situation and loot, those are challenges that we face.

"Of course you don't expect such challenges in small parties, hence there is need to put mechanisms to instil discipline in the youth and to put stops from abuse of funds."

The youth wing has also recommended the expulsion of some youth members who were attacking the party leadership, with the next politburo meeting expected to decide on the fate of the likes of Munyaradzi Shoko, who leads the Children of Zimbabwe War Veterans group.