Matemadanda vows to return Zanu-PF to the people

Newly-appointed ZANU-PF national political commissar Victor Matemadanda has said his immediate task is to return the political party to the people by coming up with people centred programmes.

Last week, Mnangagwa appointed Matemadanda as the new secretary for the commissariat taking over from Engelbert Rugeje who remains a politburo member awaiting a new portfolio.

The reassignment of Rugeje comes amid reports that it was a ploy to weaken the faction allegedly aligned to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

Until his appointment, Matemadanda was secretary for War Veterans in the politburo. Mnangagwa appointed Douglas Mahiya as Matemadanda's successor to be deputised by Headman Moyo.

Matemadanda said factionalism is not on his agenda as it does not exist under Mnangagwa's administration accusing some party members in former President Robert Mugabe's administration of coining "names and creating imaginary situations".

He said his immediate task was to return the party to the people by creating people centered programmes.

"Any person can become a king in a political party. ZANU-PF is a mass party and if people are not educated they will think that authority is vested in people they find in the structures. Yet this is misleading;  a party becomes a people's party when people have complete ownership.

"Our immediate task is to take the party from individual ownership to the people using the philosophy of democratic centralism where everyone is equally important."

Matemadanda said they were going to make sure their cell structure work effectively enabling people involved to make collective decisions.

"Decisions in the party should be done from the bottom-up, going through the structures and also from the top to the bottom using the same channel. That enables us to involve everyone in the decision making process," he said.

The Gokwe Central legislator, who became popular for standing against former First Lady Grace Mugabe's interference in the ruling party, said there was need to champion people's programmes as they used to do back in the 80s.

"ZANU-PF as a party should be a vehicle to push people's projects and that is the only way to make it popular.  We can't sit as leaders and make decisions without including people from the bottom.  We need to champion people's programmes; decisions will be taken from an informed point of view," he said.