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VP Mnangagwa

Lloyd Gumbo Harare Bureau
ANYONE in Zanu-PF regardless of whether they belonged to former Zanu or PF-Zapu before the signing of the Unity Accord, can stand for Presidency when a vacancy arises, party Second Secretary and Vice President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa has said. President Mugabe and the late Vice President, Dr Joshua Nkomo who led their revolutionary parties and armies Zanu and Zanla as well as PF-Zapu and Zipra respectively, signed the Unity Accord on December 22, 1987 which culminated in peace and unity in the country following the disturbances that afflicted parts of the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces soon after Independence.

According to the Unity Accord, whoever is elected as President under the ambit of the united Zanu-PF must appoint two Vice Presidents with one from former Zanu and the other one from former PF Zapu.

Cde Mnangagwa who is also Vice President, said the Unity Accord never stated that only a former Zanu official would be President, while a former PF-Zapu one would be one of the VPs.

His counterpart, VP Phelekezela Mphoko, also stated this position when he toured Chiredzi in October this year when he said the President of Zimbabwe could emerge from any tribe since leadership of the party was a negotiated deal between the two revolutionary parties Zanu and PF-Zapu.

In an exclusive interview with our Harare Bureau yesterday ahead of the Unity Day celebrations tomorrow, VP Mnangagwa said it was also up to future generations to decide whether they wanted to continue with the system where two VPs must come from both former Zanu and PF-Zapu.

He said the position of having two VPs from former Zanu and PF-Zapu was meant to make sure that they were both represented. “That was the concept at the time, to make sure everybody is represented at that level but as we go down the line, I don’t know whether that shall continue to be the same. We leave this to the future generation as to how they look at it,” said Cde Mnangagwa.

There have been claims by some quarters that former PF-Zapu could only provide one of the Vice Presidents while former Zanu would provide a Presidential candidate and one of the VPs.

VP Mnangagwa dismissed this claim saying the Presidential candidate could come from either of the two parties. The VP lashed out at secessionists saying Zimbabwe was a unitary State that would not allow itself to be divided.

“Anybody can be President from former Zanu or former Zapu. It’s in the agreement. You must read the agreement. Whoever becomes President, his two Vice Presidents must come from the two former political parties. That is what is in the Unity agreement.

“I sometimes read about things that you people write that there are elements of secessionists, Mthwakazi, something like that, that fringe. You always have people of that nature in every society and that does not stop the revolutionary train to continue its journey. They will shout and bark, the train of development and unity will continue to go,” said VP Mnangagwa.