Zanu (PF) to consult grass roots on succession

months.
It also emerged that ruling party members were split between vice president Joice Mujuru, former finance minister Simba Makoni and rural housing minister Emmerson Mnangagwa as potential successors for Mugabe. Both Makoni and Mnangagwa have been named in the past year as the most likely candidates to replace Mugabe. But Mugabe is said to prefer ceding power to his handpicked successor Mujuru, although reports suggest he is becoming skeptical about this, pointedly because she lacks the intellect and capacity to lead the country.
Although Mnangagwa has indicated before that he has no presidential ambitions, reports now suggest that he has been involved in massive behind-the-scene manoeuvres, through his rural housing portfolio, to canvass support among the party’s grassroots.
Zanu (PF) secretary for information and publicity Nathan Shamuyarira told The Zimbabwean that the debate on Mugabe’s successor would start within the provincial structures of the party and would continue at the party’s extraordinary congress in 2007.
“Debate within Zanu (PF) itself will start from the provinces and central committee, before reaching the Politburo and the annual congress. But the issue is not on the agenda of this year’s conference,” Shamuyarira said.
He would not discuss the behind-the-scenes campaign by potential candidates, which ruling party insiders say has already begun and which Zanu (PF) administration secretary Didymus Mutasa recently described as “hot, hot, hot.”
Zanu (PF) officials said if the choice of the provinces was used to determine the selection of a potential successor to Mugabe, Mnangagwa would have the upper hand.
However, the officials said the majority of Zanu (PF)’s Politburo and central committee, key organs in the ruling party’s decision making process, were backing Makoni, who they believe has a “solid appeal to voters”.
Foreign investors and multilateral agencies have suspended support for Zimbabwe and it is believed Makoni could help to unlock the billions of dollars worth of support that is crucial for the revival of the country’s ailing economy.
“The contest is between Mnangagwa and Makoni. Forget about Joice,” said a Zanu PF Politburo member from Mashonaland Central province, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If the debate comes to the central and Politburo level, it is Makoni all the way. We have been consulting informally and Makoni seems to be an outright choice given the way the politics is unfolding in Zimbabwe and the influence of the international arena,” the Politburo member added.
Since leaving the Cabinet about four years ago, Makoni has staunchly refused to comment on his political future.