Succession crisis rears its head at Zanu PF conference
By Violet Gonda
18 December 2006

The ZANU PF conference has come and gone and the issue of the controversial extension of Robert Mugabe’s term of office was not resolved. Analysts say the 82-year-old leader’s attempt to use his party’s annual conference to formally endorse his plans, failed because there was no unanimous support for it.

Although delegates generally agreed there was wisdom in harmonising presidential, parliamentary and local government elections there was no agreement on when and how it should be done. John Nkomo the ZANU-PF chairperson referred the matter "for further discussion" to the 10 provinces, before being forwarded to its Central Committee.

Independent legislator and former Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo said contrary to news reports, it’s not true that this proposal for harmonising elections in 2010 as part of Mugabe’s plans to remain in office was passed by the ZANU PF conference. “In fact the true position is that for the first time we have an extraordinary situation here without precedent. Which is that a ZANU PF conference has concluded without making a single resolution.”

Moyo added; “No one resolution was formally passed by the ZANU PF conference and the reason was that there was trouble over this plan. Not by ZANU PF but by President Mugabe, some securocrats and a few supporters within the ruling party who want him to avoid an election when his term expires in 2008, so that he remains for at least another two years but with an intention of remaining there longer.”

But it is believed the main factions in the ruling party - one led by Vice President Joyce Mujuru via her husband, retired Army General Solomon Mujuru and the other led by Rural Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa – are not supporting this proposal and want the octogenarian to go in 2008.

A further sign of serious division was seen when the party’s Politburo, which met prior to the conference, failed to accept the proposal to extend Mugabe’s term last Wednesday. Foreign Correspondent Peta Thornycroft said; “Leading towards the conference there has been extraordinary division within ZANU PF, each faction having scandal leaked about the other faction and clearly ZANU PF is not the ZANU PF we knew up until now. It has never been so divided.”

She said; “We will have to see whether or not Mugabe manages to use his muscle to bring them into line via the Central Committee.”

Professor Brian Raftopoulos, a political commentator, also agreed that the divisions have emerged quite fully resulting in enormous turmoil in the ruling party. “And the problem with ZANU PF, the way ZANU PF deals with the succession issue generally and historically have really come home to roost.”

The analyst believes Mugabe has had a real problem of putting in place internal structures on how to deal with the succession issue.

Professor Raftopoulos pointed out that this has created a more general problem for the state in Zimbabwe. He said; “It’s a very dangerous time I think, and especially given the way the state itself is increasingly militarised and we know these divisions are quite deep. I think it does present serious problems, not just for the ruling party but for Zimbabwean people as a whole.”

Professor Jonathan Moyo, Peta Thornycroft and Professor Brian Raftopoulos discuss this issue in detail on SW Radio Africa’s Hot Seat programme on Tuesday.