A NEW factional battle ground has emerged in Zanu-PF ahead of District Coordinating Committee (DCC) elections, amid reports of jostling for positions in the powerful decision-making board.
The ruling Zanu PF party has re-introduced DCCs, party institutions meant to give direction to the party in provinces ahead of the 2023 national plebiscite.
Meanwhile, there has been a scramble for positions into this powerful board by Zanu-PF members.
There are thirteen positions to be contested; the chairmanship, secretary for administration, secretary for finance, secretary for the commissariat, secretary for security, secretary for transport and social welfare and secretary for information and publicity, secretary for indigenisation and economic empowerment, secretary for production and labour, secretary for women’s affairs and secretary for land reform and resettlement.
The following are party provincial offices that are automatically included in the DCCs are: All members of the central committee from each district, all district national consultative assembly members, all provincial and district committee members as well as all Members of Parliament of the party in each party district.
Chairpersons of district war veteran associations, chairpersons of the Zimbabwe ex-Political Prisoners’ Detainees and Restrictees and chairpersons of war collaborators’ associations in all districts are also eligible to stand for election into DCCs .
DCCs were disbanded in 2012 by the late former President Robert Mugabe in the run-up to the 2013 national elections, with reports claiming that Mugabe was trying to get rid of current President Emmerson Mnangagwa after he had walloped the then Vice President Joice Mujuru’s faction in primary elections that year.
At a Zanu PF politburo meeting on Thursday, Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo said everything was in place to ensure transparency in the primary elections that would run for a month.
“As you are aware, all the structures in Harare were dissolved and there was a need to revamp the whole province. Furthermore, the party is continually re-modelling and renewing itself in line with the constantly changing socio-political and economic environments.
“The thrust is in tandem with the dictates of a modern political party and is, therefore, in pursuit of achieving fair, transparent and equitable participation by the rank and file of the party membership,” Moyo said.
