BY PROBLEM MASAU THE ruling Zanu PF party has vowed that it will never surrender power to opposition parties, saying it will “rule for a very long time”.
This was disclosed yesterday by Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu in Harare while officiating at a send-off ceremony of 36 party members set for a training stint at the Julius Nyerere Leadership Centre in Tanzania.
The centre, which was built by the Chinese Communist Party on a US$40 million budget, specialises in policy and leadership studies.
Mpofu described Zanu PF as one of the most formidable political parties in southern Africa.
“We are going to be in power for a very long time. We are not going to surrender power. We will always be the governing party,” Mpofu said.
Mpofu revealed that in January 2019 during fuel protests, panicky President Emmerson Mnangagwa had to hastily dispatch the late Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri to Tanzania to lobby for support to quash the protests as he felt that his grip on power was under threat.
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“President Mnangagwa had to dispatch the late Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri to lobby for support in Tanzania after the stay-away. The late Tanzanian President John Magufuli promised unwavering support and said all regime change machinations would be thwarted,” Mpofu said.
During the three-day protests, security forces used lethal force to crush nationwide demonstrations after government had announced a fuel price increase of 150%. Security forces fired live ammunition on unarmed civilians, killing 17 people.
Mpofu flaunted his liberation war credentials, claiming that he was trained in Tanzania during the liberation struggle.
“Tanzania was one of the first countries to train liberation fighters. I trained in Tanzania in 1968 where I was with the likes of Ambrose Mutinhiri who was an instructor then.”
Mpofu said the 36 trainees were drawn from the ruling party, the public service and other institutions.
The Julius Nyerere Leadership Centre prides itself in contextualising problems and their solutions. It draws from a wide variety of approaches, that include, innovative policy leading research, quality dialogues, youth training and mentoring, providing an important platform for distinguished African intellectuals and scholars.
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