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Tichaona Zindoga Political Editor—

Zanu-PF national political commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere says elections to choose the party’s provincial chairmen are not necessary as leaders can be co-opted following the removal of incumbents.

In an interview yesterday, Cde Kasukuwere said Zanu-PF’s constitution provides for co-options, batting away allegations that he had imposed party chairpersons across the country, most of whom do his bidding.

Cde Kasukuwere last week, held a meeting with the provincial chairmen and commissars which is mired in controversy after his opening remarks were synthesised into a communiqué now known as the ‘‘Tyson communiqué’’.

The chairpersons said they wanted to meet President Mugabe prompting many to ask whether they had the requisite mandate since they were not elected by the provinces they purport to represent.

Cde Kasukuwere, however, defended the status of the chairmen and the meeting with the provincial leaders: “You guys are creating a furore over nothing,” said Cde Kasukuwere.

“You know what the constitution of the Party says. If there is a vacancy in the Party, the executive shall co-opt right? So do you hold a conference, do you hold an election every time there is a vacancy in a province?

“If in any organ of the Party or any structure of the Party there is a vacancy, it’s spelt out in the constitution that they shall co-opt.

“So, when we dismissed the chairmen at the time of Gamatox, what did we do? All of the provinces co-opted. Did we have to go for new elections?”

He said holding elections would entail “throwing away the entire province”.

He defended his meeting with the provincial chairpersons as “normal”.

“The meeting was held as a normal meeting that we hold, myself as a political commissar and the chairpersons where we coordinate the work of the Party,” he said.

He said the chairmen had to respond to pronouncements that had been made by controversial businessman Energy Mutodi attacking President Mugabe and calling on him to step down.

Said Cde Kasukuwere: “This call by Mutodi is not just one, but there have been similar renegade voices that came or were making such noises. People who were either suspended or expelled from the Party, who were saying to the Party, the President must go and the Party chairpersons reaffirmed their commitment and that they stand 100 percent behind President Mugabe.

“On his part, Cde Kasukuwere has been pictured with controversial former Zanu-PF member and independent Norton constituency legislator, Mr Temba Mliswa who is on record castigating President Mugabe.

“Temba Mliswa is a Member of Parliament and I am a Minister of Government,” he said in defence.

“If Temba Mliswa comes, he does not come to my house, he comes to the office. He came to my office. When I met him, I made a full disclosure to the nation. I initiated the process of capturing him in the office and saying, he has come to meet me. It was not some midnight call that one cannot explain,” he charged.

The Herald will publish the interview with Cde Kasukuwere on Saturday.