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ZANU PF Mashonaland West Provincial Chairperson, Cde Temba Mliswa

Walter Nyamukondiwa in CHINHOYI
A zanu-pf Mashonaland West provincial co-ordinating committee meeting ended prematurely in Chinhoyi at the weekend after Women’s League provincial chairperson, Cde Constance Shamu, broke down following a verbal “altercation” with provincial chairman Cde Temba Mliswa.Cde Mliswa also attacked zanu-pf national political commissar, Cde Webster Shamu and secretary for lands in the politburo Cde Ignatius Chombo, whom he accused of undermining his position by attempting to control him.

Chaos ensued when Cde Mliswa slammed Cde Shamu (Constance), alleging that her husband Cde Shamu (Webster), by being national political commissar of the party, compromised their positions as they would not frankly handle situations where their posts were involved.

The chairwoman then interjected arguing Cde Mliswa was now being “personal.”

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However, Cde Mliswa maintained he was pointing out facts that he felt were affecting smooth running of the party.

“This is not fair Mr Chairman. The person you are talking about is not here. I cannot have this anymore. This is too much for me,” Cde Shamu said before breaking down.

However, Cde Mliswa insisted; “You have the national political commissar and the chairwoman and you wonder are you going to work well when you have a problem with either one of them. These are some of the questions I am asking myself.”

The issue followed an observation by a member that there never seemed to be communication between the two during the course of the meeting.

Cde Mliswa then said it was a manifestation of strained relations before adding that he was being fought left, right and centre by some members of his executive.

Earlier on Cde Webster Shamu had walked out of the meeting together with Senate President Cde Edna Madzongwe, which did not go down well with Cde Mliswa.

“The national PC (Cde Webster Shamu) is part of the PCC and she (Mrs Shamu) is the chairwoman of the province so as such they will be subject to any discussion in the province in their capacities.

“Certainly, we were not happy with the conduct of some members of the PCC. I was in the chair and I thought if there was any reason to leave, he (Cde Shamu) could have told me as the chair. He is the national PC of the ruling party and he cannot be seen doing that. So I registered my displeasure,” he said.

Cde Mliswa said the province was saddled with the weight of two antagonistic centres of powers fighting for its control.

“It’s pretty clear that Mash West has always been a very difficult province for anybody to run because whether you want it or not Cde (Ignatius) Chombo (secretary for lands in the politburo) and Cde Shamu always wanted control of the province in controlling the chairman and I have not been that person that they have been able to control and as a result there has been disunity in the province. I will consult other leaders on the way forward,” he said.

It started with presentation of reports by MPs on what they have done in their constituencies before members started reviewing the performance of the Youth and Women’s leagues and the main board.

Members were unanimous in highlighting that the executive arms were now dysfunctional with others calling for fresh elections.

This was rebuffed by Cde Constance Shamu, who said where people did not cast their ballot, the other contestants had withdrawn and the last person standing was duly declared the winner.

Others noted that the main board comprised elected MPs who have no understanding of the party as they took up positions to consolidate their power.

“We have here young MPs who are not prepared to respect their leaders and have no passion to work for the party. They are the ones who are creating problems for you now Mr chairman,” said a member of the PCC.

Secretary for administration Cde Kindness Paradza, said every decision should be guided by the constitution before reading a circular from zanu-pf  headquarters, which governed the elections that ushered in the six-month old executive.

“Elections were held and endorsed and we have to be guided by the constitution before taking any step,” he said.

Others said the chaos in the province were tremors of manoeuvring for positions in the central committee ahead of Congress with others saying Cde Mliswa was being fought for pushing people to work for the party.

“There are people who were not used to working after getting positions who are not happy that you are working and that you are asking them to pull their weight and have decided to fight you,” said a PCC member.

Asked about his relations with members of the executive, he said he had cordial relations with them before adding that there was too much interference from Politburo members, which was creating havoc in the province.

“I have a good relationship with all of them but I have told you that there is interference from Dr Chombo and Cde Shamu. You also know that Dr Chombo’s brother Nimrod was very keen, he was also part of the elections and he lost. Whether he has accepted or not I don’t know. He was quite interested in his brother assuming the chairmanship,” he said.

He said quite clearly the province had not been functional and discharging its duties according to the constitution.

“Others say we should go for elections questioning their legitimacy and in their view we should go for elections. Others say lets continue and iron out our differences but I have told them that you can’t iron out differences for as long as Cde Chombo and Cde Shamu want to control the province personally and want to control the chairman. The problem is with those two in this province. It’s always the case. With (the late) Cde (John) Mafa it was case. It continues to be the case. It must stop at some point,” he said.
Cde Shamu yesterday refused to comment on Cde Mliswa’s allegations.

“I cannot comment on that because I was not there. If I want to talk to the Press I will go through the provincial information secretary or if it’s about the politburo I will go through Cde Rugare Gumbo. I should respect party protocol,” he said.

On the allegations levelled against him and Cde Chombo, he said only Cde Mliswa, who raised the allegations, should comment.

Cde Chombo could not be reached on his phone as he was said to be out of the country.