'Zanu-PF feeding us,' says MDC-T

THE opposition MDC-T party has claimed that it was working with factions within the ruling Zanu-PF in their fight to succeed President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since independence in 1980.

The party claimed that among many other things, Zanu-PF factions provided the opposition MPs with information on corrupt deals implicating their rivals in the ruling party.

It is understood that the information would then be released during parliamentary debates in the august House, nailing Zanu-PF stalwarts competing to succeed the 90-year-old Mugabe.

The opposition MPs claimed they were "friends" with Zanu-PF MPs eager to expose each other and score goals in the ongoing jostling to succeed the Zanu-PF leader.

MDC-T national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa said the ruling Zanu-PF party was clueless on how to deal with the declining economy, throwing it into chaos.

Chamisa added that there was also a crisis in Zanu-PF due to the succession battle pitting Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

However, Mugabe has recently hinted none of the two protagonists would succeed him as they were fanning factions within the ruling party amid indications that former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono could be the frontrunner to replace the ageing leader.

"In Parliament, we are being fed by both factions. We choose which side to attack. Others say we die if we speak, but we don't care," Chamisa told MDC-T supporters in Kuwadzana on Sunday.

He accused Zanu-PF of recycling ministers since independence, saying this in itself was a sign of failure to deal with real issues affecting the people.

But Zanu-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said if indeed Zanu-PF factions were leaking information to the main opposition party, those involved should immediately stop it.

"If it's true, those said to be doing that should stop forthwith. It's being unprincipled and tragic if they indeed asked for support from MDC-T on this one," Gumbo said.

Another MDC-T MP also claimed he was thoroughly briefed on the corruption cases involving Zanu-PF stalwarts by individuals within the ruling party, but declined to name the said officials.

Zanu-PF has been imploding, with infighting taking centre stage along factional lines.

Mugabe recently said it was not automatic that either Mujuru or Mnangagwa would succeed him. Mujuru and Mnangagwa have repeatedly denied leading any factions or harbouring presidential ambitions.

The fights in Zanu-PF recently spilled into Parliament where Hurungwe West MP Temba Mliswa was at the forefront of exposing fellow Zanu-PF officials for underhand dealings.

Mliswa accused Information, Media and Broadcasting Services minister Jonathan Moyo of fighting faction wars by using the media to expose members of a rival faction.

The Mashonaland West Zanu-PF provincial chairman said Moyo was protecting his Zanu-PF faction from public scrutiny, an allegation Moyo has disputed.
Moyo said those "found with their hands in the till" should not blame factionalism.

MDC-T MPs, among them Chamisa, Mabvuku legislator James Maridadi and Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya, have been vocal in Parliament denouncing corruption within Zanu-PF.

Meanwhile, with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF hurtling towards a December congress expected to work out the party's succession plan, reports in Zanu-PF indicate that few voices could be considering possibility of pushing the 90 year old leader to go.

Senior Zanu-PF officials in the past weeks have secretly demanded change at the December congress, questioning the point of having an elective congress if the party was averse to change.

It is impossible to know how widespread the sentiments expressed among the party officials, but the flurry of calls for leadership renewal is almost unheard of and startling given that criticism of Mugabe is strictly prohibited.