Zanu-PF urged to remain united

A Zanu-PF Politburo member has exhorted ruling party members in Masvingo to remain united if the province is to maintain its coveted status of a "one-party" province under the ruling party's stranglehold.

The party's secretary for environment, Prisca Mupfumira, paid tribute to party members in Masvingo for playing a key role in ushering in a new political dispensation that saw President Mnangagwa ascending to the helm of both the ruling party and Government.

Mupfumira said this recently while addressing Zanu-PF members from Masvingo who were celebrating the appointment of five members from the province into the Politburo.

The five - Lieutenant-General Engelbert Rugeje (Retired) (national Political Commissar), Paul Mangwana (secretary for Legal Affairs), Lovemore Matuke (secretary for Security), Josaya Hungwe (secretary for Labour and Production), and Pupurai Togarepi (secretary for Youth Affairs) - now hold key portfolio's in the party's supreme decision-making body.

Mupfumira said President Mnangagwa's decision to appoint five party members from Masvingo into the Politburo was a sign of faith and trust in the province's position as an undisputed Zanu-PF stronghold.

''I am happy with the faith that President Mnangagwa has shown for the people of Masvingo and I am appealing to you that please do not embarrass him by failing to keep Masvingo's revered position as a one-party state," she said.

"Masvingo should maintain its tradition of being a Zanu-PF stronghold and we want that to be further confirmed during the forthcoming elections. We want people to go out in large numbers and vote for our candidate President Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF so that we cruise to a crushing victory.''

Mupfumira hailed ruling party members and their leadership for remaining united and focused even in the face of attacks from the previous leadership.

She noted that events that led to Mugabe's recall as Zanu-PF president and the expulsion of his wife from the party, should serve as a lesson to party cadres.

"The Youth Interface Rallies that were held last year ended up being known by others as 'tukaface' (verbal attacking platforms) rallies.

"But I think we can draw some lessons from that experience: the first lesson is that a good wife should never set foot at her husband's workplace and the second lesson is that man should not marry women who are much younger than them," said Mupfumira to roaring applause from the floor.

She urged party members to continue recruiting more members.

Speaking at the same gathering, Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairman Ezra Chadzamira said the ruling party was pulling all the stops to retain the 26 House of Assembly seats won in the last elections in 2013.

He challenged party leaders to shun corruption and work for the development of the province.

''We want to make sure that we make a clean sweep during the forthcoming elections," said Chadzamira.

"We want to retain all the 26 House of Assembly seats in the province, but for us to do that we need to work in unity and shun any forms of corruption.''

Chadzamira thanked the ruling party for expelling troublemakers, especially those from the province.

Zanu-PF's Extraordinary Congress held in December upheld the expulsion of Dr Walter Mzembi, Dr Paul Chimedza, Dr Daniel Shumba and Mr Jappy Jaboon from Masvingo.

The expelled members were working with a grouping within the party calling itself G40 that had literally captured President Mugabe through his wife Grace, to the extent that there was blatant disregard of the constitution both within the party and in Government.