Manicaland continues to give Mugabe a headache

MANICALAND has continued to give President Mugabe headaches as it has churned out most of the opposition leaders and parties in the country, a senior Zanu-PF official has said.

Addressing thousands of people who thronged Sakubva Stadium for the First Lady, Amai Dr Grace Mugabe's fifth round of her "Meet The People Tour" last Friday, outgoing National Secretary for Women's Affairs Oppah Muchinguri said most opposition parties in the country have roots in Manicaland.

"People are now eyeing the highest position on the land. You start fighting at the grassroots, but the ultimate prize is the highest office. President Mugabe's position is threatened. Where does Simba Makoni come from? Where does Tekere come from? They are both from Manicaland Province. They both challenged President Mugabe and we should be careful. What is interesting is that it is men who rebel against the establishment. Women are not traitors. Look at Muzorewa and Tsvangirai as well as others, where do they come from?" said Muchinguri.

She bemoaned divisions in the party and said people were no longer seeing eye to eye.

"We now have a serious problem in the party where people are no longer greeting each other because of factions. Rumour-mongering is now the order of the day in the party. If President Mugabe avails party regalia, some of it is distributed on factional lines to win favours. The same applies to inputs which are failing to reach their intended beneficiaries," she said.

Muchinguri said factionalism had weakened party structures as people are being voted into office on factional lines.

"Positions in the party are being manipulated. Some people are being removed from office, while others are being put into positions without their knowledge. You will find out after attending a meeting where one is called to stand up but will remain seated because that person will not be aware that she holds that position.

"What kind of a party is it when there is no transparency in holding elections? Elections are being held in beerhalls. Things are not being done in a transparent manner. People are being given money, some are being given cosmetics, this is factionalism. Everyone should receive goods availed by the party.

"Even in education, a few are being awarded scholarships, but the money is not yours, it belongs to Government. You are now usurping President Mugabe's powers," said Muchinguri.

She said leaders should not abuse delegated powers.

"Abuse of delegated powers will see people defecting from Zanu-PF to join MDC. People in MDC turned their backs on Zanu-PF because of our actions. We should be united. We should go back to the old days when we were united and speaking with one voice," she said.

Muchinguri said they decided to rope in Dr Mugabe into the women's league structures after facing challenges in convening meetings in some provinces.

"In some areas Women's League members were being barred from holding meetings, yet it is provided for in the constitution that these meetings should be held. During the last elections, it was said Women's League should conduct elections, but that was not followed. We should be honest with each other.

"We realised that the party is under threat and decided to have Dr Mugabe as the leader of the Women's League. All cheats will be shamed, even rumour-mongers, because Dr Mugabe is a unifier.

"We looked at Dr Mugabe's good track record and realised that she is the right candidate for that position. She is a God-fearing person and approachable," said Muchinguri.