Mutasa feeling the heat ahead of Zanu-PF congress

IMMENSE pressure is on the shoulders of Didymus Mutasa, the Zanu-PF secretary for administration and acting secretary for finance, ahead of the party's elective congress to be held in December. As the party's chief administrator, Mutasa has to be at his best between now and December. He must ensure that his team threshes out any logistical nightmares that might dampen the congress.

Normally, such tasks are made difficult if one were to work with an unreasonable finance person. But in this case, Mutasa will have no one to blame since he is also the party's acting secretary for finance. There is one problem though. Currently, there is no collective effort in Zanu-PF due to rampant factionalism. And this extends to the organising team, which is said to be pulling in different directions - along factional lines.

The just-ended Zanu-PF Youth League conference might just have acted as a dress rehearsal of what is about to follow. Thousands of youths drawn from the party's 10 provinces slept on empty stomachs as there was no food to feed them.  It was only at the intervention of the First Family that donated cattle and maize that a potentially embarrassing situation was averted. The poor organisation of the conference has been a talking point in the ruling party, with a public dressing down by President Robert Mugabe of those responsible for organising the party's conferences and key events.

Without the mention of any names, the flak fell on Mutasa, and Webster Shamu, the party's national political commissar.  Once again, the heat will certainly be on the organisers of the upcoming December congress to prepare adequately for the event and ensure that there is no repeat of the fiasco and chaos seen during the youth conference which President Mugabe described as "shameless".

Organisers in the ruling party cannot risk a poorly organised conference in December and have a few months remaining to ensure its all systems go. Knowing how much they revere President Mugabe, political commentator Zibusiso Dube, postulates that the organisers could be tripping over themselves, working flat out to ensure that the December congress is a success.

"The pressure has definitely been applied already as witnessed by the fervent attempts to ensure that the women's conference went well," said Dube.

With factionalism in the ruling party rearing its ugly head, any chaotic organisation of the conference would give ground for one faction to discredit its rival camp. Two factions are thought to exist in Zanu-PF, led by Vice President Joice Mujuru and Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, although both have publicly denied leading any factions in the ruling party.

If Mutasa gets it right on this one, he will go into the congress with his head held high. The opposite is equally true. For Mutasa, there is a lot to lose and so much to gain as well. He has two options at his disposal, either to hold onto the secretary for administration's post or go a step up the ladder.

According to conversations in Zanu-PF, he seems to have opted for the party's national chairmanship - assuming that Simon Khaya- Moyo, the incumbent, goes for the second vice presidency, left vacant following the death of John Nkomo in January last year. His biggest undoing could be the unavailability of funds needed to bankroll the event. But then when one looks at the last minute avalanche of resources at the just-ended Women's League conference, one gets the feeling that miracles could still happen.

As to how much would be spent at the congress, such information has remained under wraps. But since Zanu-PF admitted to being broke at the Women's League conference last weekend, there is no prize for guessing what will happen next. The ruling party is once again expected to take its begging bowl to organisations, companies and individuals to help bankroll the congress. In the past, Zanu-PF conferences ring up costs that run into millions of dollars and this year's penultimate gathering is expected to result in high costs for the cash-strapped ruling party.

Khaya-Moyo has, however, downplayed any pressure being brought to bear on the organisers, despite hiccups seen at the youth conference.

"There is no pressure from anyone as we proceed to organise the December congress," said Moyo.  

"All the processes are in place; we have held the Youth and Women's league conferences. It is only logical that we now proceed with the next step which is the congress in December."

Khanyile Mlotshwa, a political analyst, differed with Khaya-Moyo. He has a feeling that at the December congress the chaos will be more pronounced unless and until the party's repressive machinery works overtime.  

"It is clear from the youth and the women's conferences that the stakes are high…gauging from the increase in the insults via the media, for example between Chris Mutsvangwa, the Deputy Foreign Affairs minister against Mutasa. It is a clear testimony that someone is prepared to go for the kill at elective congress," said Mlotshwa.

Certainly, the stakes are high. It is clear that party officials are going for the jugular in the race to position themselves for high office and Mutasa and his team cannot risk being made the fall guy.