ZANU PF Politburo member Ziyambi Ziyambi said President Emmerson Mnangagwa cajoled him into working with the party’s Mashonaland West chairperson Mary Mliswa-Chikoka after he had expressed reservations over her leadership skills.
Addressing a provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting at Mazvikadei Resort at the weekend, Ziyambi said he was initially opposed to Mliswa-Chikoka taking charge of party affairs in the province.
He said Mnangagwa was the one who talked him into working with Mliswa-Chikoka, calling her the “Chief of Mashonaland West”. Said Ziyambi:
I didn’t want her (Chikoka-Mliswa), but the President said ‘the Chief of Mash West is Mary, go and work with her’.
Mliswa-Chikoka, who is also the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland West Province, recently made history by becoming the first-ever female to lead a province.
However, reports suggest that some ZANU PF members in the province were contemplating a no-confidence motion against her executive.
Mliswa-Chikoka is accused of unilateral dissolution of district executives and imposing her cronies.