Tagwirei co-option will enrich ruling party, says Mutsvangwa

The proposed co-option of businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei into the Zanu-PF Central Committee is set to strengthen the party's business interests, ensuring closer alignment with the economic sector, a senior official has said.

On Monday, the Zanu-PF Harare provincial executive recommended the co-option of Tagwirei into the ruling party's Central Committee – the highest decision-making body outside Congress.

Addressing a press conference in Harare yesterday, Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity, Christopher Mutsvangwa, said the co-option of Tagwirei into the Central Committee would help the party and Government remain alive to business needs, given the sector's broad impact on society.

"Since the business community is involved in the sale of goods and services, their impact on the community is much bigger nowadays. To have Tagwirei in the ranks of Zanu-PF in Harare province is a noble thing, more so at the stage where the reforms of the President have taken traction. We are beginning to see big investors coming from outside," he said.

Mutsvangwa likened Tagwirei's potential influence on Zanu-PF and the nation to that of billionaire Elon Musk, who serves as an advisor to former United States President Donald Trump.

"For him to become part of the Zanu-PF leadership, his vast business experience, his entrepreneurial argument will also enrich the proceedings of Harare province.

"If I can draw allusions, we can see how Elon Musk, a senior advisor to President Trump and other business people, have enriched the second term of President Trump. And just last week, the American leadership and the Chinese leadership were having a meeting with his business class.

"All the new entrepreneurs who are deep-seeker entrepreneurs in artificial intelligence and a gamut of other Chinese business people in robotics, in drones, across the board, were in attendance. So the business class is a good thing for it to be identified with the ruling party," he said.

Mutsvangwa said collaboration with business leaders like Tagwirei will be key to achieving Vision 2030.

"It is a timely move for Tagwirei to come to the party, and we hope that his example will be followed by more and more business people. We, of course, take pride in that we are a mass membership party because we are democratic, but we also want to be enriched by ideas of those people who are in charge of producing goods and services within the country, within the region, and for the global marketplace," he said.

"We want them to be in Zanu-PF so that they fertilize the entrepreneurial discourse which may be going on at any particular time. We welcome Tagwirei, well done Harare province for embracing him."

Mutsvangwa implored Zanu-PF Harare province members to give Tagwirei as much support as they can for him to flourish in politics.

"I also hope he learns as much as he can about the ethos of Zanu-PF as a party of the permanent Zimbabwe revolution, a party which aspires to make sure that there is shared progress and common prosperity," he said.

Zanu-PF Harare province chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa confirmed that the recommendation for Tagwirei's co-option had been submitted to the party Secretary General Obert Mpofu, who will provide further guidance on the next steps.