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Chronicle Reporter
ZANU-PF heavyweights who lost in the primary elections held on Wednesday and yesterday countrywide have accepted defeat and pledged to support the winners to ensure a resounding victory for the party in the 31July harmonised elections. Politburo member, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu who lost to a young Bulawayo businessman, Cde Joseph Tshuma in Pelandaba/Mpopoma said he was among the first people to call the victor, congratulating him after the election result had been announced.
He said:
“I have been working in Mpopoma for a long time and I have developed the area for a long time. My concern is development for the people, so the development projects that I have been supporting in the constituency will continue. We have youth projects, women’s projects and so on. I am a patron of many schools and also of the Better Schools Programme, Mpopoma Cluster. Tomorrow (today) I will commission a bus at a school in Mpopoma. I am not doing that so that people can vote for me, but for the people.
“On the outcome of the election, I must say it’s our National Election Directorate and Politburo which agreed on the script that the outcome of primaries must be accepted and that those who don’t make it must support the winner. I pledge my support to Joe. I telephoned him to congratulate him as soon as the result was announced. If you ask him, he will tell you that. What is important is for the party to win the presidential election, to win the majority in parliament.”
Dr Ndlovu said he has supported many projects in the constituency out of love and personal sacrifice.
“Someone asked me a stupid question that ‘are you going to remain in politics or you are quitting?’” he said.
“I told him that I will always be in politics. Politics is in my bone. I am politics myself. To me politics is an assignment to assist the people. They were not asking these stupid questions when I was in the bush during the war but now. So I congratulate Joe. He is coming up in the party and I am ready to support him.”
Another Politburo member, Cde Sithokozile Mathuthu who is Matabeleland North Provincial Governor and Resident Minister, accepted defeat.
“The people have spoken. There is always the next time,” she said.
Former Cabinet Minister, Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said:
“I have no comment. I don’t want to comment.”
Cde Mangwana failed to retain Chivi Central constituency in Masvingo. Trade unionist and cane farmer, Cde Ephraim Gwanongodza won the primary.
Senator Lot Mbambo (Bubi-Umguza) said with the primaries having come and gone the focus for every party cadre must be to unite and work together for the revolutionary party to win the forthcoming harmonised elections.
“That is the agenda now,” he said.
“Whatever the result, we have a responsibility to make it a point that we win the harmonised elections resoundingly. Those who have won and those who have lost have to pull forward together. As a senior member of the party I feel what happened, happened, it is an internal matter. Let’s move on.”
Cde Richard Moyo, the party’s provincial chairman for Matabeleland North won the right to represent the party in the senatorial constituency in the 31 July poll.
Dr Gatsha Mazithulela, who was seeking his first elective political post, lost in the Bulawayo Central election. He said his short time in politics has taught him valuable lessons on human behaviour.
“Politics is a practice that is based on understanding the behaviour of human beings,” said the bio-technologist. This week, I learnt a lot in terms of human behaviour. This experience will help me a lot in my political career because I am not leaving politics. My skills remain at the disposal of the people.”
On Monday, Dr Mazithulela complained that some cadres whom he had engaged to roll out his campaign deserted him at the eleventh hour.
Online Reporter