By Victor Fanuel
CHINHOYI — Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has taken a veiled swipe at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s inner circle, warning that Zanu PF must not become the preserve of individuals while ordinary Zimbabweans survive on the goodwill of a privileged few.
Addressing the ruling party’s 23rd National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi on Friday, Chiwenga called for a return to Zanu PF’s founding principles of collective leadership, accountability and service to the people, in remarks that carried added weight amid a deepening succession struggle.
“Our party belongs to the people, never to individuals. We must listen to them attentively, for they are the ones who entrusted us with this mandate.
“We are here to serve the people, never to be served by them.
“The younger generation is watching our conduct closely,” Chiwenga said.
His speech offered a pointed contrast to the concentration of political and economic influence among figures with close ties to Mnangagwa, as the president’s allies consolidate positions within the ruling party and government.
Chiwenga’s sharpest warning was directed at a system in which economic empowerment risks becoming the preserve of politically connected elites rather than the wider population.
“Our collective resolve to attain Vision 2030 must be to consolidate economic development, uplift the living standards of the people and make them proud citizens of this country, not hewers of wood and drawers of water, surviving on the benevolence of a privileged few,” he said.
Chiwenga’s remarks come amid mounting tensions over Constitutional Amendment No. 3 (CAA3), which extended presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, allowing Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030, and replaced direct presidential elections with selection by parliament.
The constitutional changes also altered the succession landscape, weakening the route through which a vice president could assume the presidency when a vacancy arises.
Chiwenga, a former army commander who played a pivotal role in bringing Mnangagwa to power during the 2017 military intervention, has repeatedly opposed the amendments.
Mnangagwa and Chiwenga’s ideological differences have fuelled a silent fallout that has spilled into Zanu PF’s internal structures.
On October 9, Chiwenga reportedly challenged proposals to amend the party constitution to align it with the revised national charter, derailing a politburo meeting before Mnangagwa arrived.
The proposed changes have exposed divisions within Zanu PF over whether the party’s rules should be amended to accommodate the constitutional changes.
Chiwenga’s insistence that change must be orderly and driven through party structures appeared to challenge attempts to impose political outcomes from above.
“Change must be driven by the people, not imposed from above.
“You may recall, Your Excellency, that the voice of the people is the voice of God,” he said.
Chiwenga’s strongly worded speech coincides with the rapid rise of businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei through the ruling party’s hierarchy.
Tagwirei, who was recently appointed Minister of Economic Development and Investment Promotion, is under United States sanctions.
He rose from the Zanu PF central committee
to the Senate before being appointed minister earlier this month.
On Thursday, he was further elevated to the party’s politburo as secretary for Economic Affairs and Investment Promotion.
Tagwirei’s growing political influence has fuelled speculation that he could be Mnangagwa’s preferred successor, although no formal succession arrangement has been announced.
His elevation has intensified scrutiny of the relationship between political access, business power and the future leadership of Zanu PF.
Chiwenga’s warning that Zanu PF belongs to the people rather than individuals has been interpreted in some political circles as more than a call for better governance.
It has been widely percolating as a reminder that the party’s legitimacy rests on collective struggle and public service, rather than personal ambition or proximity to the president.
“As we deliberate at this momentous conference, we must remember that we are merely temporary custodians of this vanguard party, for our time on Earth is finite.
“So, comrades, we must ask ourselves: what legacy are we leaving?” said Chiwenga.
