Zanu-PF Midlands still without executive

ZANU-PF Midlands province has gone for more than six months without a provincial executive following the dissolution of the committee by the commissariat after it failed to comply with the politburo directive to co-opt some of the members that had been excluded from the committee, after being voted for by their respective districts.

In an interview, the revolutionary party's secretary for information and publicity, Rugare Gumbo, said the Midlands province was supposed to come up with a substantive executive committee before the party's general congress in December.

Gumbo said the province had been charged to incorporate some of the members that had been excluded from the committee yet they were voted for by their respective districts.

The Zanu-PF national commissariat dissolved the Midlands provincial executive following irregularities that punctuated the provincial elections as well as failure to comply with the party directive to allow all members who were elected into the provincial basket to participate in the provincial elections.

The elected members were directed to repose all authority in the administration of the party in the Midlands Province in the hands of the provincial chairman, Jason Machaya, chairperson of the Women's League Ellina Shirichena and Youth League chairperson Edmore Samambwa.

Gumbo said the province was yet to comply with the Politburo directive.

"The party is aware of the situation in Midlands. We are working on the matter and we are confident that before the congress the province would have a substantive provincial executive committee.

"The outstanding issue is the co-option of some of the members that had been excluded from the basket. These members were voted into the baskets in their respective districts. However, they were not allocated posts in the provincial executive," he said.

Gumbo said the party was concerned with growing indiscipline among some of the members of the party who were misleading other party members.

"It is a question of discipline. It has become a matter of concern. The provincial executive has to come up with a substantive committee that is what we are mainly concerned with," said Gumbo.

He said the members stand guided by party policy and constitution.

An endeavour to install a new committee once hit a snag when some members of the previously elected committee boycotted a provincial meeting while some members of the party disapproved a new executive which was appointed by the party.

The new executive had been announced by Zanu-PF political commissar, Webster Shamu, during a meeting held at the party's conference centre in Gweru, where there were strong objections on the criterion used to appoint the new executive.