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Runesu Gwidi Masvingo Correspondent
Chiefs here have hailed the Government for throwing its weight behind Zimbabwe Chiefs’ Council president Chief Fortune Charumbira to land the Pan African Parliament (PAP) presidency. Chief Charumbira has already received overwhelming endorsement from the southern Africa regional block, SADC ahead of the elections set for next month.

Government this week announced its full backing for Chief Charumbira to lead PAP citing his many years of experience in Zimbabwe’s legislature among his array of attributes.

Chiefs in the province said Chief Charumbira, who also currently serves as Senator in Zimbabwe’s Upper House, deserved the PAP presidency because of his traceable wealth of experience in local government and political administration.

“We have no doubt that he (Chief Charumbira) will succeed in the race to be PAP’s new president considering that he is both educated and quite conversant with the values and ethos of cultures around the African continent,’’ said Chief Marozva, Mr Philip Mudhe of Bikita.

“There is unanimity amongst chiefs in Zimbabwe that Chief Charumbira deserves another feather on his political hat by landing the PAP presidency.

“He has shown his unparalleled leadership qualities on various platforms and is the best foot forward in PAP.”
Masvingo Provincial Chiefs’ Assembly head, Chief Chitanga of Mwenezi (Mr Felin Chauke) hailed Chief Charumbira’s endorsement by Government saying the chiefs’ council president has a wealth of experience required to transform the pan-African legislative body into a vibrant and stronger fora.

The sentiments were echoed by Chief Chiwara (Mr Rueben Mupasi) who commended Government for backing Chief Charumbira who is a tried and tested leader and with potential to leave a permanent mark as head of the PAP.

Chief Charumbira holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Politics and Administration from the University of Zimbabwe and a Master’s in Business Administration Degree (MBA), among other academic qualifications.

The Zimbabwe chiefs’ council president, who is currently one of Zimbabwe’s representatives at the PAP, worked in various private institutions including the World Bank, where he was Institutional Change Specialist, between 1985 and 2000.
He was elected by the chiefs’ council to represent Masvingo province in Parliament in 2000 and became Senator in 2005.

Chief Charumbira won the chiefs’ council presidency for two consecutive terms and in May 2016 he was elected Chair of the Pan African Parliament’s Committee on Governance, Financial and Performance Audit until 2019.

The Pan African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament is a legislative body of the African Union (AU) that was inaugurated in 2004.