Jabulani Sibanda opts out of Zanu-PF chairmanship race

WAR veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda has said he will not vie for the Zanu-PF national chairmanship race should any other member of the party show interest in the post.

He said he would only take up the post if he was elevated by the party members during the Zanu-PF elective congress in December.

Two weeks ago the war veterans' leader intimated that he would contest for the fourth most powerful post in the Zanu-PF presidium, adding that the decision would come from the people as no leader should impose themselves.

However, last week Sibanda told journalists in Bulawayo that he was not prepared to take on any party member in the race for the party's national chairmanship.

With the party's secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa having already thrown his hat into the ring, it is now less likely that Sibanda would still be interested in contesting for the chairmanship post.

"In my whole life I have never stood up against any party member in an election and I don't intend to do it now. I will never stand up against Mutasa, but I will stand up with him and with my hand in his.

"If it happens that he pulls me to that position to do work for the party then yes I will accept it," he said.

Sibanda's candidature for the party's chairmanship post had been supported by Matabeleland South's Gibson Msipa and Jabulani Phetshu Sibanda who felt the war veterans' leader had the right credentials for the post, taking into account the amount of work he put in campaigning for Zanu-PF in the run-up to the elections last year.

The war veterans' leader also responded to statements by some party senior officials that reserving the chairmanship to former PF-Zapu members was not cast in stone and that the post was open for contest by any eligible party member regardless of where they come from.

Party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo is on record saying the principle of reserving the party's chairmanship was not written in black and white in the unity accord but was just a gentleman's agreement between members of the two parties to the accord.

Sibanda said such statements were a clear disregard of the party's tradition and should not be entertained, describing them as nonsense.

"That is nonsense. The party has a constitution and it has its own traditions. We cannot change those traditions overnight. Yes it might not be written in the Unity Accord but it has been the party's tradition that the national chairman should be occupied by former PF-Zapu members. That should be respected," he said.

Sibanda, however, said with time the party should do away with the tradition of seeing party members as former PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF, but warned that timing of such an occurrence was critical.

"We can't stick to this idea of looking at each other as former Zanu-PF and PF-Zapu for too long. There should come a time when we start looking at the party as one unit. We have to make it clear that we are one party and those who are elected to posts should be elected on merit.

"This formalism should at some point end, but when someone wants it to stop because we are going for congress then that will create problems. It should end gradually and allow party members to view each other as one," he said.

As the revolutionary party heads for its elective congress in December, a fierce contest for posts is expected following President Mugabe's declaration that all party posts will be contested.

So far, Zanu-PF national chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo, Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, former Zimbabwean Ambassador to South Africa Phelekezela Mphoko are eyeing the Vice President post.

Former Zipra chief of Staff Ambrose Mutinhiri and Zanu-PF Politburo member Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu said they were still consulting on whether or not to contest the post.