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Joseph Madzimure Zimpapers Elections Desk

TEN MDC-A parliamentarians have defected to ZANU PF citing a lack of direction and infantile politics in the country’s opposition parties.

Yesterday four of the 10 legislators namely; Hon Lindiwe Maphosa,  Hon Memory Mbondiah, Hon Winnie Kankuni, and Hon Virginia Mafuta were received at the ZANU PF headquarters by the party’s Secretary General Cde Obert Mpofu and the Political Commissar Cde Mike Bimha.

Hon Maphosa, who is also the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee for Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development said ZANU PF is the party of the people hence their decision to leave opposition politics.

“When I make a decision I make an informed one. As Members of Parliament and activists in our own right, we have decided to join ZANU PF from the opposition politics. Some of us with other Comrades joined the opposition in 2000 and we have been in opposition politics since then. We had a narrative as the opposition that has greatly changed and deviated from what we believed in as the youth who joined the opposition then.

 “We are Zimbabweans and Zimbabwe is the only country that we have, so we have seen that some of the leaders in opposition where we are coming from are incompetent.

“There is Douglas Mwonzora who has turned MDC into something less than a burial society, in a burial society there are some activities taking place. Mwonzora is an MDC-A president who is going to an election but managed to pay his own presidential fee without MPs and councillors,” she said.

 She said the MDC and CCC are two sides of the same coin.

“CCC leader Nelson Chamisa and Mwonzora were only fighting for a big chunk but it’s the same thing. We have seen it change into student activism that has no vision and they don’t know where they are going. If you look at the way they conducted their primary elections, it was a circus,” said Cde Maphosa.

She commended ZANU PF for setting up well-oiled structures from the grassroots.

“If you look at how ZANU PF held their primary elections, we have seen young people coming up contesting for parliamentarian positions, something that is not happening in the opposition. We have said we want to see young people incorporated. We have got a party that has a direction, that has got a vision, that has structures,” she said.

Cde Mpofu welcomed the former MDC-A legislators saying the ruling party is open for everyone to join.

 “We are welcoming the comrades to the home of the revolutionary party ZANU PF. The event is historic in that it is coming at a time when the President is moving across the country uniting our people and developing our great country,” said Cde Mpofu.

 “In my capacity as the Secretary-General, on behalf of the party, on behalf of the President, and the entire leadership of ZANU PF, we welcome you with open hands. You are no longer retainees, but members of Zanu PF from now. Your coming back is slightly different from other members, since this is a team of Members of Parliament, 10 of them. You will get the same treatment as any other party member”.

The party’s national Political Commissar Cde Mike Bimha, who presented the returning members to Cde Mpofu said the former opposition MPs will now join the election campaign.

 “Our focus is really on campaigning and therefore we would welcome you to work with us as we go through the campaigns,” said Cde Bimha.