Mnangagwa focuses on term extension

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has called for detailed timelines and an implementation matrix for key resolutions adopted at the recent Zanu-PF annual conference in Mutare, with particular emphasis on the resolution seeking to extend his tenure beyond the 2028 constitutional term limit to 2030.

The demand was made during a Zanu-PF politburo meeting on Wednesday at the party headquarters in Harare.

The party conference directed specific actions and set timelines, particularly for the controversial presidential term extension, amid strong resistance from opposition parties, civil society, and dissenting members within Zanu-PF. The resolution forms part of ongoing internal succession tensions between Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, which have intensified over the past year.

Minister of Justice Ziyambi Ziyambi, who also serves as Zanu-PF legal affairs secretary, has been instructed to initiate the necessary legal and constitutional amendments. The party and government have been given a deadline to implement the changes before the next Zanu-PF annual conference, scheduled for October 2026.

Beyond the term extension, other conference resolutions cover currency management, taxation, trade and investment, resource management, party supremacy, civil service reforms, infrastructure development, and welfare programmes.

Addressing the politburo, President Mnangagwa urged vigilance, warning against threats to national peace and stability:

"I further challenge the nation to continue to be vigilant, guarding against machinations or attacks on our peace, national unity and stability. Counter-revolutionaries and pretenders, in whatever format, will never succeed and must continue to be exposed and defeated."