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Daniel Nemukuyu, Harare Bureau
ZANU-PF Women’s League yesterday endorsed President Mnangagwa as the party’s sole candidate for the 2023 presidential poll, describing him as a champion for women empowerment, ahead of the ruling party’s People’s National Annual Conference slated for Matabeleland South next week.

The party’s Youth League and the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association has also endorsed President Mnangagwa’s candidature for the 2023 presidential election and almost every province has done so.

The league’s national assembly members hailed the President for allocating 30 percent of the Cabinet posts to women despite the fact that an insignificant number of the women had managed to make it to Parliament in the just-ended harmonised election.

Addressing the Women’s League national assembly meeting in Harare, the league’s secretary for Administration Cde Monica Mutsvangwa announced the decision to endorse President Mnangagwa’s candidature among a host of other resolutions.

The women also cried foul over the chaotic primary election experienced in the party this year, chief among the problems being imposition of candidates.
Cde Mutsvangwa said the women were confident that President Mnangagwa’s hard work and dedication to duty would turn around the economy and bring an improved standard of living.

“Women’s League supports the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF Cde ED Mnanagawa’s leadership and therefore endorses him as sole candidate for the 2023 election,” she said.

Cde Mutsvangwa said President Mngagagwa was a servant leader dedicated to duty.

“President Mnangagwa arrives at work around 745AM everyday and leaves office at 9PM. That is a sign of hard work and dedication to duty,” she said.
The endorsement, Cde Mutsvangwa said, was unanimously made after consultations with all the country’s 10 provinces.

Addressing the same gathering yesterday, President Mnangagwa promised to restore sanity in the next primary election saying endorsement of candidates was now a thing of the past.

“When we held our primary elections this year, there were a lot of errors and problems. Those who were not strong enough could have been affected to the extent of quitting the party. You did not.

“Since you have the party at heart, you proceeded to vote for those imposed candidates although you were unhappy with the imposition,” he said.

The President said some challenges occurred because the commissariat had a new leader who was still learning.

He said Cde Engelbert Rugeje was now an experienced commissar and that the mistakes will not arise again.

The President said the chief culprits for the imposition scandal were the party leaders.

“I do not think the juniors have the capacity to impose the seniors to positions, but instead, it is the seniors who can endorse people.

“We are totally against imposition of candidates. That will never happen again. The people’s choice must be respected.

“If people choose the leader they want and you take them for fools, and impose the one that you want, you end up being the real fool,” he said.

The secretary for Women’s Affairs Cde Mable Chinomona described President Mnangagwa as the champion for women empowerment who was fighting to elevate women to influential position.

She told the gathering that President appointed a number of women to influential positions.

She gave examples of the appointment of Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri as the party’s national chairperson and Minister of Defence.

Cde Chinomona mentioned the appointment of Cde Mutsvangwa as Minister of Information as well as that of Cde Sithembiso Nyoni as Minister of Small to Medium Enterprises.

Cde Chinomona also spoke of the appointment of Cdes Sekai Nzenza and Kirsty Coventry as Cabinet ministers.

President Mnangagwa, the Women’s League said, also appointed three women deputy ministers and five Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs.