Zhuwao speaks out on Zanu PF ‘dirty politics’

Youth and Indigenisation minister Patrick Zhuwao has said he has decided to stay out of succession debates because of “too much mudslinging”, which is nothing but dirty politics.

Source: Zhuwao speaks out on Zanu PF ‘dirty politics’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe November 21, 2016

BY KHANYILE MLOTSHWA

Zhuwao also accused the public media of perpetuating Zanu PF fights by being used to smear other party members, saying he was actually puzzled that the State media was pushing a programme contained in the Blue Ocean Strategy.

Blue Ocean strategy is a paper allegedly produced by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction to map out strategies to dismantle the rival faction, G40, which Zhuwao is linked to.

“I refuse to participate in any succession debates,” Zhuwao said at the weekend.

“One thing that is absolutely clear is that if you find anybody, who wants to be a leader by pulling others down, then that person is unelectable.

“You want to be a leader and you want to do that by creating criminal cases for others!”

Zhuwao said Zimbabwean politics was now an embarrassment, as the public media, have been roped into fighting political wars.

“I get concerned sometime when certain institutions of State appear to be targeting individuals as opposed to fulfilling their mandate,” he said.

“When you look deeper into that, you start seeing other agendas that are not proper in terms of what those institutions are supposed to do.”

When pressed further, Zhuwao said it was puzzling that the public media seemed to be pushing a programme contained in the Blue Ocean Strategy.

He did not divulge anything on the authorship of the paper.

“Those are public institutions and one would expect them to promote public programmes, which are very clear in terms of the Constitution of this country,” he said.

“There are disturbing similarities between the Blue Ocean Strategy and some public newspapers. The Blue Ocean Strategy targets four people: Ignatious Chombo, Saviour Kasukuwere and Jonathan Moyo; those three should be kept busy with corruption cases.

“Then I am targeted in terms of my perceived incompetence, that it should be exaggerated.”

Zhuwao said Zanu PF had since its last elective congress in 2014 battled with exorcising the demon of multiple centres of power, but power struggles orchestrated by senior party leadership have continued to rock the party.

“In 2014, (President Robert) Mugabe was elected to be the President and first secretary of Zanu PF,” he said.

“We realised that there was a challenge with having multiple centres of power. We decided on having one centre of power.

“According to our Constitution now, in line with section 4 of the Unity Accord, the President now appoints members of the politburo, who include his two vice-presidents. When he (Mugabe) appointed the two VPs, he was clear that he was appointing them to assist him, not to challenge him.”