Msipa won't be meeting Mugabe

FORMER PF-Zapu secretary general and Zanu-PF politburo member Cephas Msipa yesterday said he won't be meeting President Mugabe over the position of national chairperson, saying the majority voice will prevail at the elective congress in December.

Msipa, however, insisted that he felt precedence should be followed and the post reserved for former PF-Zapu members.

Msipa's sentiments follow announcements by the Masvingo province over the weekend that they were backing Vice-President Joice Mujuru to retain her post, Zanu-PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo for the second vice-presidency and secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa for national chairperson.

"As I have said before that the position in the Unity Accord is that of the second vice presidency. The other on the national chairperson has been based on precedence," said Msipa.

"Zanu-PF is a democratic party and what will come out in the end is what the majority wants. Personally, I remain convinced that the position of  national chairperson should go to former PF-Zapu members."

Msipa said he felt he did not need to meet the President as "so many people have spoken about the matter and I think the President has all the information he needs to make a decision so there is no point as far as I am concerned for that meeting."

Last month, Msipa said he would meet President Mugabe over concerns regarding the eligibility to contest the position of the party's national  chairperson.

This was after former PF-Zapu members asked Msipa to seek audience with President Mugabe over the matter following indications of interest from former Zanu members.

He acknowledged growing debate over the matter, but urged members to remain calm saying the issue would be solved amicably when he meets President Mugabe.

The declaration by Masvingo provinces on preferred candidates in the presidium also raised questions on whether the party had opened the gates for contest for the respective post.

Zanu-PF secretary for information and publicity Rugare Gumbo declined to comment saying he had not heard about the Masvingo provincial decision.

"I do not know about that. I'm hearing this for the first time so I can't comment about it. I haven't heard anything about it," said Gumbo.

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 anyone.

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.

Khaya Moyo last month 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.

Two weeks ago, ex-PF-Zapu female cadres said the Zanu-PF December elective congress should not divert from the existing precedence of elevating the party national chairman to the Vice-Presidency, while Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Dr Obert Mpofu called for the opening up of the race saying reserving it for certain individuals was undemocratic.