Blow to Muchinguri, Mutsvangwa as Zanu PF rejects appointment of female Vice President

The President Mnangagwa led ZANU PF has reportedly rejected the appointment of a female Vice President ( VP) as a replacement to Kembo Mohadi who recently resigned over office affairs allegations.

Analysts including Prof Jonathan Moyo had argued that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had three options at his disposal with regards to finding a replacement to Mohadi.

Jonathan Moyo earlier argued that Mnangagwa could appoint the commander of the Zimbabwe National Army, Philip Valerio Sibanda mainly because of his contribution during Operation Restore Legacy that propelled Mnangagwa to power.

He said Mnangagwa could appoint a senior former ZAPU member as per the Unity Accord of 1987 signed by ZANU and ZAPU to merge the two parties.

The third option, according to Moyo, was to appoint a woman as Mohadi replacement as the party was already pushing for women’s empowerment.

The two senior women who were tipped to land the post are defence minister Oppah Muchinguri and information minister Monica Mutsvangwa.

Now reports suggest that some bigwigs in the ruling party are resisting the push for the amendment of the party constitution to re-introduce a female VP as was the case before former VP Joice Mujuru was fired from the party and government by Mugabe in 2014.

Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs, Paul Mangwana, told the Daily News Monday that amending the party’s constitution to accommodate a woman as one of the country’s VPs was not a current consideration.

At the moment we are not targeting the vice president’s post…

It (the party’s constitution) does not talk of certain positions having women. We are simply saying we stand for gender equality as an aspiration, but it won’t happen overnight.

Even in all political formations they are failing to achieve that (women’s quota), although everyone is trying to do so.

There are many socio-economic challenges in the country which are actually fighting against that aspiration, but we are trying to achieve it.

He, however, claimed that ZANU PF has gender representation in its structures and is still striving for “gender equality as a modern and progressive party.”

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