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Lloyd Gumbo Harare Bureau
ZANU-PF parliamentarians have thrown their weight behind the sole candidacy of President Mugabe and elevation of First Lady Cde Grace Mugabe to be secretary for Women’s Affairs at the 6th National People’s Congress starting in Harare next Tuesday. The parliamentary caucus met in Harare yesterday where they also endorsed proposed amendments to the party Constitution, among them to have President Mugabe as the only one to be elected and giving him the prerogative to appoint his deputies and all the other Politburo members.

The meeting that was held at the party headquarters ahead of the Politburo meeting yesterday was highly subscribed, with several MPs upbeat about the prospects of a reformed and transformed Zanu-PF following the defeat of some long serving party heavyweights who fell by the wayside during last week’s Central Committee elections across the country.

Zanu-PF Chief Whip Cde Joram Gumbo said party legislators unanimously endorsed the resolutions.

“We met as Zanu-PF caucus and unanimously endorsed President Mugabe as our sole candidate at the congress,” said Cde Gumbo.

“As you may be aware, women, the youths, war veterans, students and cross-border traders have all gone to Cde Grace Mugabe’s Children’s Home in Mazowe and endorsed her elevation to be secretary for the Women’s League.

“So, as party MPs we are also fully behind the proposal by the Women’s League to have her as the secretary for the Women’s League.”

Cde Gumbo dismissed as day-dreaming reports that party MPs would impeach President Mugabe.

“That is just day dreaming, we have no intention whatsoever to do such a thing,” he said.

“We’re fully behind our President because he has just been given a fresh mandate by the electorate.

“We will never pass a vote of no confidence because we have confidence in him as our leader. We also support proposed changes to the party Constitution that the President should have the prerogative to appoint people that he will work with.

“We can’t have a situation where people that he will work with are chosen by other people.”

Cde Gumbo said the suspension of Chipinge South MP Cde Enock Porusingazi from the party for five years did not warrant his recall from Parliament.

“What happened is that Cde Porusingazi was suspended by the party. He was not expelled so he is not going to be recalled from Parliament,” he said.

“He remains a card carrying member of the party. He was only punished by the party, unless the Politburo had expelled him then he would have been recalled from Parliament.”