The Sunday News
FORMER Zanu-PF chairman for Mashonaland West Province Mr Temba Mliswa has quit politics. Mr Mliswa told journalists in Bulawayo yesterday that he would never run for public office again or vie for a political post in any of the political parties in the country.
Speaking at the Bulawayo Press Club, Mr Mliswa said he was now concentrating on “nurturing” future leaders through his Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard), a youth initiative he recently founded.
The former Hurungwe West legislator was fired from Zanu PF early this year, together with several other party members who were backing former Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s putschist maneuvers.
Following his expulsion, Mr Mliswa declared that he would “bounce back” to the political fold and contested as an independent candidate in the by-election which followed his expulsion and recalling from Parliament, but lost to Zanu-PF candidate Cde Keith Guzha.
The controversial politician, who has evidently lost his way in political wilderness, has been linked with several opposition political parties and at one point was pushing for a grand coalition of opposition parties, albeit hitting a snag.
Mr Mliswa has been linked with the Mujuru led People First party, links that he and the party have both dismissed.
He has also been linked with the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC, and was again recently reported to have expressed desire to return to Zanu-PF.
Yesterday Mr Mliswa, seemingly frustrated by his mundane attempts to “bounce back”, dismissed any possible chances of him returning to politics, claiming that he was now too old to hold public office.
He bragged that he was capable of winning in any election in any part of the country if he was to return to politics, but had decided to retire to give younger people an opportunity.
“I will not go back to politics, never again. I’m done, I’m so done. I say so honestly and I never go back on what I say. I’m out of politics, totally,” he said
“I want to see young people occupying that space, that’s my passion. You cannot be a legislator at 48 and yet there are younger people who can actually do better.
“I’ll win any election any time. I’ll go back to Hurungwe West and I can win, anywhere I want to stand I’ll still win an election because I work hard and I’m passionate about what I do. I’ve said to myself what about this generation, we are eating their time.”
Mr Mliswa is going around the country meeting youths as he tries to set up structures for his youth organisation.
He dismissed any chances of the youth organisation turning into a political party.
