Last man standing: Mat North chair says I don't do factions

Zanu-PF provincial chairperson for Matabeleland North, Richard Moyo, says he does not expect to be booted out like what has happened to his counterparts because he has never been part of a team that allegedly wanted to unconstitutionally remove President Mugabe from power.

This came as party stalwarts from the province said they had no complaints against Moyo as such, he should survive the ongoing purges.

Moyo is the last man standing after votes of no confidence against provincial chairs Ray Kaukonde (Mashonaland East), Temba Mliswa (Mashonaland West), Callisto Gwanetsa (Masvingo), Jason Machaya (Midlands), Amos Midzi (Harare), Andrew Langa (Matabeleland South), Professor Callistus Ndlovu (Bulawayo), John Mvundura (Manicaland) and Luke Mushore (Mashonaland Central).

In an interview with our Harare Bureau yesterday, Moyo said his secret was loyalty to the revolutionary party, President Mugabe and taking advice from his superiors in the province.

"The reason I've survived is because I don't do factions because I know they destroy the party," said Moyo. "Chairmen in this province used to be suspended frequently and I learnt from that.

"I knew if I became treacherous, I would be suspended or fired hence I remained committed to uniting all structures from the cells to the politburo. As we speak, Matabeleland North is united among the politburo, central committee and provincial coordinating committee members.

"I was never approached by those people who've been doing factionalism because they knew I would expose them. My major strength is that I listen to advice from all the structures of the party including members of the politburo, central committee, provincial coordinating committee and lower structures."

Some quarters believe Moyo will survive because of his close links to politburo member and Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Obert Mpofu.

But Moyo said he was not bothered by people who make such statements as long as he was being linked to people who were loyal to the party and President Mugabe.

"If they say I'm his person then he's a good adviser because he didn't advise me to do factional things that would've seen me in trouble," he said.

"What I can say is that I'm working well with all politburo members, central committee and provincial coordinating committee members who're advising me on how to run the party in the province."

Mpofu said they had no complaints against Moyo since he managed to suppress factionalism in the province.

"He's been very effective in stemming factionalism out of the province because there're some very senior people who were part of this agenda of bribing people," he said.