A PUSH by Zanu PF’s wings for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his tenure beyond the constitutionally-mandated two terms has left the party’s provincial chairpersons in a quandary as they are unsure if the plan will succeed.
NewsDay heard yesterday that the chairpersons fear attracting the wrath of Mnangagwa’s successor.
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga is tipped as the shoo-in to replace Mnangagwa, although the former military general has not publicly expressed any ambitions for the top post.
According to the source, party members have found themselves in a quandary over the ‘ED 2030’ slogan, which signifies support for Mnangagwa’s push to remain in power until 2030.
The push comes despite Mnangagwa unequivocally stating that he would leave office at the end of his constitutionally-mandated two terms in 2028.
It also emerged that some provincial party members have openly refused to chant the ‘ED 2030’ slogan, arguing that they should not be forced into demonstrating loyalty to a leader who has indicated that he wants to leave office when his tenure comes to an end in 2028.
The source told NewsDay that the members fear repercussions either way — risking expulsion from the party if they do not show allegiance, while also fearing that pledging support for Mnangagwa might backfire if he is no longer in power by 2030.
Provincial chairpersons in Masvingo, Midlands and Matabeleland North, who are seen as known Mnangagwa sympathisers, set the ball rolling by resolving that the President should rule beyond his constitutional two-term limit.
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At a recent Zanu PF meeting, Chiwenga did not chant the ED 2030 slogan, calling for discipline “so that we achieve the 2030 vision” after youth had chanted the divisive slogan.
In what appears to be a clapback to Chiwenga, Vice President Kembo Mohadi, with chanting the divisive slogan.
“I don’t know if it is indiscipline that I have chanted the slogan, but our Constitution provides for freedom of expression,” Mohadi said.
Zanu PF sources said the party’s chairpersons no longer know which agenda to push.
“There are chairpersons who are known Mnangagwa allies who have been pushing for the 2030 agenda but Chiwenga has fought back and it is now not clear who is going to carry the day. So most of the chairpersons are now caught in-between,” the source said.
Efforts to get a comment from Zanu PF national political commissar Munyaradzi Machacha were fruitless as his phone rang unanswered.
Machacha last week admitted that there were frictions in Zanu PF and opposition political parties.
“We have noticed that there are disputes in both the ruling party and opposition parties. The sons of Zimbabwe are fighting against each other and in Zanu PF, there are frictions, (which is) the same with the opposition,” he said while addressing councillors attending re-orientation lessons by the Chitepo School of Ideology.
Zanu PF director of information and publicity Farai Marapira, told NewsDay: “We never had divisions as Zanu PF, we have been united. As a party we have conversations, ideas and growth. The ideas are only grown by conversations.”
Previously, former Zanu PF national political commissar Mike Bimha, said the “2030, vaMnangagwa vanenge vachipo” slogan was not recognised in the party.
Mnangagwa’s supporters, however, have of late been chanting slogans indicating that he will be in office until 2030, raising fears there could be manoeuvres to attain that feat.
Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Owen Ncube has been publicly sloganeering in favour of Mnangagwa’s term extension beyond 2028.
Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, has also been chanting the slogan in support of manoeuvres to extend Mnangagwa’s term to 2030.
Analysts fear Mnangagwa is likely to lose control of the party during his last term.
“The end of this reign is important because the jostling in Zanu PF elite circles will be fierce and directed towards building loyalty for the presumed successor [whomever that may be],” professor of Political Violence and Geography in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex Clionadh Raleigh said.
