Scramble for posts delays close of Youth Conference

10 Aug, 2014 - 21:08 0 Views
Scramble for posts delays close of Youth Conference

The Sunday News

youth leagueTHE Zanu-PF Youth League Conference, which was scheduled to end yesterday, dragged well beyond midnight as delegates failed to agree on the best people to fill the posts of deputy secretary of the organ and its secretary for adminsitration.
By 1am Sunday, President Mugabe — who was expected to have addressed the conference closing earlier on Saturday — was still in a briefing getting an update on what was happening.

The conference was divided over the deputy secretary’s post with one side rooting for Cde Kudzai Chipanga and another for Cde Tongai Kasukuwere.

Cde Varaidzo Mupunga and Cde Lewis Mathuthu were both vying to become secretary for administration.
In 2009, top leadership posts in the organ were filled by consensus, and the precedent was applied when selecting other executive posts yesterday morning.

Matters, however, got to a head after delegates failed to agree on candidates for the top positions.
To breach the divide, the National Commissariat department headed by Cde Webster Shamu subsequently arranged a vote, with thousands of delegates comprising district chairpersons, provincial as well as national executive members voting via secret ballot.

The process pushed back other programme items such as presentation of winners and President Mugabe’s closing address.
Cde Kasukuwere’s and Cde Chipanga’s supporters also provided different lists of their preferred officials to occupy the top 10 positions, further delaying the endorsement of candidates.

By 11pm, voting was still being conducted and by midnight the ballots had not yet been counted and President Mugabe, who had arrived earlier in the evening was in a briefing with the relevant party national and Youth League officials.

In all, 10 posts were up for grabs.
Cde Chipanga’s camp was rooting for Harare’s Cde Mupunga (secretary for administration), Masvingo’s Cde Yeukai Simbanegavi (finance), Cde John Mushayi of Mashonaland East (political commissar), Bulawayo’s Cde Mpe Malinga (external relations), Cde Tungamirai Matonhodze from Mashonaland West (security), Matabeleland North’s Cde Aleck Nyakuwara (transport) and Matabeleland South’s Cde Evelyn Mpofu (information).

The camp would then have the other two posts of secretary for legal affairs and indigenisation taken by their top two losing candidates for the other positions.

On the other hand, Cde Kasukuwere’s camp was going for Cde Mathuthu of Midlands (administration) and generally agreed with the Cde Chipanga side on who should fill the other posts.

Cdes Chipanga and Kasukuwere were both upbeat that they would come out tops in their battle for the deputy secretary position.
Cde Chipanga, who is also Makoni West legislator in the National Assembly, said: “This time around there was no consensus on the top positions; there was no other way except to go for elections.

“I think so far the elections have been conducted fairly, we expect the results to come out later in the night.”
Cde Kasukuwere said the elections were conducted freely.

“The elections are going on well in a friendly environment,” he said. “But we are concerned with some of the voters who we believe are way above 50 years of age, who, we believe, were allowed to vote.

“But at the end of the day, we hope the party emerges stronger after the election.”
The ruling party caps participation in the Youth League at age 35, with the organ selecting its own deputy secretary and all other posts and President Mugabe appointing the secretary at the National Congress.

Cde Absolom Sikhosana is the incumbent secretary and the National Congress will be held in December in Harare, but before that the Women’s League will hold its own conference to elect its officials. As with the Youth League, the women’s secretary is appointed at Congress.

Contacted for comment, Zanu-PF National Chairman Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo said the Youth League results would be announced last night.

“Certainly results will be announced tonight. Voting for the last province is currently taking place and we do not want to drag this process until tomorrow.

“I have actually been in touch with the President and I can confirm that he will come tonight.”
Earlier, Ambassador Khaya Moyo castigated factionalism and urged youths to elect their leadership on the basis of merit.

Opening the conference last Friday, President Mugabe fumed about disorganisation in the event and warned of dire consequences for those implicated in the chaos come the National Congress in December.

This was after it emerged that some delegates did not have food and transport with some officials telling the President that the party did not have money to cater for these basic issues.

President Mugabe revealed that he and First Lady Amai Mugabe had to donate up to 30 head of cattle and milk from their farm to cater for the delegates.

“I am seeing all that is happening. But when it comes to Congress don’t cry . . . I cannot have a Central Committee or even a Politburo which is that inept,” President Mugabe said in reference to the administrative bungling.

The Youth League Conference and the Women’s League event scheduled for the coming week, were always going to be tense affairs as officials position themselves ahead of December’s National Congress.

This tension has been in the context of reported factionalism in Zanu-PF related to the Presidential succession issue and pitting ruling party bigwigs against each other.

A resolution by both the Youth and Women’s leagues to have First Lady Amai Mugabe heading the latter organ come Congress has reportedly thrown the alleged factions into a state of disarray as some officials had not forseen this development.

The ramifications of such an appointment — which has precedence in late national hero Amai Sally Mugabe’s leadership of the Women’s League in the late 1980s and early 1990s — are intriguing.

Incumbent Women’s Secretary Cde Oppah Muchinguri has been at the forefront of campaigning for her replacement.
Insiders say this means she would likely contest for a higher post, probably that of party Secretary for Administration which is currently occupied by Cde Didymus Mutasa.

In turn, that means Cde Mutasa would either choose to square off against Cde Muchinguri or turn his sights higher to be National Chair as Cde Khaya Moyo is tipped to go for one of the two Vice President posts.

However, going for the National Chair position could be problematic for Cde Mutasa as there is an unwritten arrangement in Zanu-PF since the 1987 Unity Accord that the position goes to a member of the former Zapu.

Cde Mutasa has in the past said he would be interested in the VP post or any other that members of the party nominate him for.
President Mugabe has said the people are the final arbiters on who should occupy which post.

 

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