Ambros Mutinhiri keen on Zim VP position

MORE people could be eyeing the vacant post of Second Vice-President as some senior Zanu-PF cadres say they are consulting over the matter ahead of the party's elective congress in December.

Ex-Zipra commander, Retired Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri, yesterday said he was still consulting on whether to throw his hat in the ring or not.

His position follows comments last week by former Zimbabwe Ambassador to South Africa Phelekezela Mphoko who said he would only make a decision "when the gates have been opened."

There has been speculation on the possible candidates for the VP post which fell vacant last year following the death of VP Landa John Nkomo.

Mutinhiri told Chronicle: "I am still consulting on the matter. You will know of my position in due course," he said.

On whether the position of national chairman was reserved for former PF-Zapu members, Mutinhiri who is also Marondera West legislator in Mashonaland West, said he believed that there should be parity in the presidium.

He said he was not aware that there was debate within the party that the position was not necessarily reserved for former PF-Zapu members.

"I think the scenario that is there is the correct one. There should be parity in the presidium. I believe that it is correct that the position of chairperson should be reserved for former PF-Zapu members," Mutinhiri said.

There has been growing debate over the matter with some party members saying the 1987 Unity Accord only reserved the second vice presidency for former PF-Zapu members and the chairmanship could be contested by everyone. But since the Unity Accord was signed, former PF-Zapu members have consistently held the chair and the second vice-presidency with the former Zanu-PF holding the first vice-presidency and the president's post.

In a separate interview yesterday, Zanu-PF politburo member and former Midlands Governor Cephas Msipa urged party members to remain calm. He acknowledged growing debate over the matter and said the issue would be solved amicably when he meets President Mugabe soon.

Msipa, an ex-PF-Zapu secretary general, said he would meet President Mugabe over concerns regarding the eligibility to contest the position of the party's national chairperson.

He said he was not feeling well and the President had some engagements hence they had not met yet.

"Besides, the President has been busy and recently he was in Malawi for their 50th Independence celebrations," Msipa said.

"People should not be worried about the issue, they should remain calm. It will be sorted out properly."

Zanu-PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo on Monday said the 1987 Unity Accord signed by President Mugabe and the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo was irreversible and the party should follow its provisions when electing people to key positions at its December congress.

Responding to questions from journalists after touring the Toyi Toyi Gallery in Harare on the criteria used to elect the party's national chairman, Khaya Moyo reiterated that the Unity Accord was a key pillar of Zimbabwe's history and was irreversible.

Last week, Ambassador Mphoko said he was not in a hurry to make any announcement on the issue.

Khaya Moyo is considered the front runner in the race by virtue of seniority and precedence. He is on record as saying he was not in a position to discuss issues of positions.

Dr Obert Mpofu, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development recently said he hoped that Khaya Moyo would take up the position, adding that the Matabeleland region was against factionalism.

He said the region was aware of the party's protocol and procedures and would rather concentrate on what they could achieve, which was the Vice Presidency.