Mugabe hints at Cabinet shake-up

Source: Mugabe hints at Cabinet shake-up – DailyNews Live

Fungi Kwaramba and Andrew Kunambura      27 September 2017

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe has dropped the clearest hint that he
might reshuffle his Cabinet anytime soon to weed out elements seen as
fomenting discord in his government, the Daily News can report.

Mugabe last reshuffled his Cabinet in September 2015 as he sought to
uproot functionaries that were associated with former vice president Joice
Mujuru.

Mujuru had been fired about 10 months earlier, in 2014, for scheming to
unseat Mugabe using unconstitutional means.

Ever since, the discord in his Cabinet has worsened because of the intense
infighting between Zanu PF factions – Team Lacoste and Generation 40 (G40)
– over Mugabe’s succession.

The infighting has spread to all facets of government, thus disrupting
government business, and stalling projects meant to pull the country’s
economy from the intensive care.

Addressing Zanu PF supporters at the Harare International Airport on his
return from the 72nd Ordinary Session of the United Nations General
Assembly in New York on Monday, Mugabe dropped the strongest hint that he
would soon be dealing with malcontents in his deeply-divided party.

He said he was aware of saboteurs who wanted to incite people against his
government ahead of next year’s general elections, suggesting some of them
could be within his inner circle.

“We heard that they are shortages of things like cooking oil whose prices
are going up; we don’t understand this. There are some people who want to
fuel discord in the country as we go towards elections next year. They
want to make sure that they will be an uprising against the government but
our people are well informed and will not do that,” said Mugabe.

The Zanu PF leader threw the cat among pigeons by implying that some of
those whom he dines with could be among the saboteurs, saying he would
deal with them in a matter of days.

“We are going to look at the problems, we are sure they can be solved in
one or two days, let us be careful because they are some rotten apples in
our midst, it might actually be people who we share things with but let us
not be divided, let us go to elections united,” said Mugabe.

His latest pronouncement comes just over two weeks after the Zanu PF
leader told party supporters at a rally in Bindura that while he was in
the middle of reshuffling the Cabinet, he received news of the death of
former minister of State for Masvingo province Shuvai Mahofa.

“Members of Parliament from Masvingo approached me and said these two
(Psychomotor minister Josiah) Hungwe and Mahofa) were a big problem in the
province. They asked me to remove VaHungwe and Mai Mahofa from office
saying the province would run smoothly if they are gone. So I was in the
process of reshuffling Cabinet when Mai Mahofa died,” Mugabe said.

Hungwe and Mahofa were accused of grabbing sugarcane plantations from
agro-industrial firm, Tongaat Hullet on which they settled over 400 party
supporters.

Last year, Mugabe held back-to-back meetings in Chiredzi and Harare to try
and solve the emotive divisions in Masvingo to no avail.

He has also repeatedly told the settlers to vacate the plantations, but
they have refused to go, only to find themselves stuck with their crop as
the company refuses to take in their crop for processing.

Political analyst, Shakespear Hamauswa, said Mugabe was warning those on
the wrong side of the fence of the impending demotions.

“He has the prerogative to appoint and dismiss Cabinet ministers and he
can simply do that at will,” remarked Hamauswa.

“Previously, he used to consult Mujuru and Mnangagwa to balance the then
existing factions, but now that he seems to be a faction of his own, the
Cabinet reshuffle can be a possible reality. It will also be a way of
entrenching his position showing that he is still in control.”

Relations in the ruling party have become seriously strained following the
suspected poisoning of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa last month by
alleged rivals who are desperate to destroy his prospects of succeeding
Mugabe (93).

Since the alleged poisoning of Mnangagwa, Mugabe and his wife, Grace, have
accused the Midlands and Masvingo provinces of fanning tribalism and
spreading hate through false claims of witchcraft.

Political scientist, Ibbo Mandaza, predicted a Cabinet reshuffle saying
this would be a step towards resolving the thorny succession issue.

“He hinted on a Cabinet reshuffle in Bindura and now he is talking about
bad apples within the government hierarchy. I think we are in for some
kind of reshuffle,” Mandaza said.

Asked if he thought Mugabe was bold enough to tweak with his Cabinet when
elections are approaching, Mandaza said: “That should not be a problem,
elections are still too far. I think he wants to move a step further to
try and settle the succession question.”

Political commentator, Rashweat Mukundu, said Mugabe was likely to
approach the reshuffle with caution.

“It certainly indicates an impending Cabinet reshuffle, but be sure that
Mugabe will still balance the various factions and maintain them in a
state of equilibrium.

“The reshuffle is not intended to reward anyone but to balance the deck
for his benefit and enhanced control of the party and the succession
debate,” said Mukundu.

Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and
African Studies at the University of London, said there is likely to be
many rotations of Cabinet and other senior positions all the way through
to the elections in 2018.

“This will be part and parcel of alliance building for one or another
faction, or of the president attempting to balance the factions,” he said.

Chan, however, said it is not saboteurs within government who are
responsible for rising prices.

He said prices were spiralling out of control because government, as a
whole, has had no underlying economic strategy for some years.

“The result now is simply that there is no underlying economy. The
question is whether continuing and escalating price rises will make the
president’s position untenable before the elections – in a way that the
opposition cannot,” opined Chan.