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Tendai Mugabe Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday said he will make major announcements during the Zanu-PF 6th National People’s Congress that starts in Harare today. The President said this during a tour of the Congress venue at the Harare Civic Centre where he was welcomed by National Chairman and interim national spokesperson Cde Simon Khaya Moyo and several Politburo members.
After the tour of the Congress venue, Zanu-PF national commissar Cde Webster Shamu asked President Mugabe if he had anything to say to which he responded:
“No, no we shall make huge comments later.”
President Mugabe’s remarks feed into growing anticipation among Zanu-PF members and the nation at large as to the line-up that will emerge at Congress in the wake of the ejection during Central Committee elections of several Zanu-PF bigwigs among them Vice-President Joice Mujuru, secretary for administration Cde Didymus Mutasa and several Politburo members.
Conspicuous by their absence was Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Secretary for Administration Cde Didymus Mutasa.
Unconfirmed reports said Cde Mutasa was flown to South Africa over the weekend to seek medical treatment after his health deteriorated.
Journalists tried to seek further elaboration from the President and asked him to respond to “one” more question before he left but the President jokingly said: “I don’t take one (question) but two.”
During Congress, President Mugabe is also expected to appoint a new line up of Politburo members.
Several Zanu-PF bigwigs including Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Cde Mutasa who is the Secretary for Administration have been voted out of the Central Committee after they were fingered as chief architects in the plot to assassinate President Mugabe which effectively ruled them out of the Presidium matrix.
This has opened room for President Mugabe to spring some surprises on the new leadership lineup.
Rooney’s Hire Services which was mandated to prepare the Congress venue said it was putting final touches before the big event.
Rooney’s operations director Sharmeck Mupeti, told our correspondent on the sidelines of President Mugabe’s tour that the preparations were almost 95 percent complete.
“We’ve pitched a big tent that accommodates 12,500 people and by end of day tomorrow, everything will be in place,” he said.
Several tarred roads were opened at the Congress venue and the roads were named for easy directions.
Some of the roads were named after the Zanu-PF Women’s League Secretary designate Dr Grace Mugabe while others were just named “Congress”.
The Congress is starting today with a Politburo meeting that will be followed by the Central Committee tomorrow.
The Central Committee is expected to endorse proposed amendments to the Zanu-PF constitution.
Among a raft of the proposed amendments is a clause that empowers the First Secretary to appoint his deputies and National Chairman.
On Thursday, President Mugabe will officially open the Congress that would be followed by serious deliberations on various issues including implementation of Zim-Asset.
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