Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-Outspoken businessman and ZANU PF member Energy Mutodi has threatened to join opposition rivals of the revolutionary party if the party finds him an undesirable element.
This comes in the aftermath of reports that a provincial meeting was recently organized at which Goromonzi West Member of Parliament Beatrice Nyamupinga orchestrated a failed coup of Mutodi.
Mutodi is being accused, by Nyamupinga of insulting President Mugabe.
Writing through his purported advisor, one Learnmore Marikomo, Mutodi said he had only offered his advice to the President as a way of averting a dangerous situation come 2018 but would support the party’s resolution to forward the candidature of Mugabe.
Mutodi who also attended the meeting convened by Nyamupinga, said he had not insulted President Mugabe in any way but had offered his advise to the veteran president on the risk of losing the forthcoming harmonized elections if efforts were not made to unite the party.
“Asked if he still supported President Mugabe as a presidential candidate in 2018, Mutodi said that he had no capacity to change the resolution the party made at congress in 2014 and as such would, like any other ZANU PF member, stand by that resolution”.
“Mutodi also told the meeting that his advise on the need to unite the party had been taken seriously by President Mugabe and hoped that the veteran leader would outsmart his detractors and appoint competent people to drive the party across the hostile political waters when he re-shuffles cabinet shortly”.
“The businessman also added that he would gladly join opposition politics if ZANU PF found him an undesirable element among its ranks”, said Marikomo.
Nyamupinga’s push to have Mutodi dismissed is believed to have hit against a wall as some district chairpersons refused to draft the communique against Mutodi that would be sent to the Mashonaland East Provincil Executive.
According to Marikomo a provincial executive member, Cainos Ngoshi, who chaired the meeting later admitted that the meeting between the MP and the district chairpersons was tense as Nyamupinga frantically tried to force Munhenga District chairperson Daniel Makurumidze into producing a damning letter that would be used as a basis to expel Mutodi from ZANU PF.
Nyamupinga is understood to be working with other provincial members namely Secretary for Administration Tendai Kwaramba and Marondera Central MP Lawrence Katsiru in their efforts to pass a resolution that would enable the province to suspend the businessman.
District members and some chairpersons of the 14 districts of Goromonzi West constituency however expressed shock with Nyamupinga’s behavior which they said was the reason why their community remained undeveloped despite being very close to the capital city.
“The community still has poor roads while schools have inadequate facilities and most school children drop from school due to failure to raise school fees by their peasant parents”.
“Most villagers survive through farming but the MP has failed to help them transport their farm produce to markets let alone mobilize fertilizers and other farm inputs for the poor families”.
“All what she does is to distribute small portions of rice to her supporters towards elections”.
“Nyamupinga rarely visits her districts but only pitches up when she feels threatened by aspiring MPs who do much of the social and development work”, said Marikomo.
On Saturday the Munhenga ward allegedly convened a meeting where the people re-affirmed their support for Mutodi whom they said had initiated self-help projects for the poor in the multi-ethnic constituency.
Mutodi has been vocal in calling for the stepping down of Mugabe whom he says no longer has the ability to run the country and this has created frictions in a party already riddled by factions in the succession battle.
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