Mutasa dodgy ahead of ZANU-PF conference

ZANU-PF secretary for external affairs was very dodgy in the run-up to the 2002 party conference as United States embassy officials scrambled to get party officials to disclose whether the issue of President Robert Mugabe’s succession would be discussed or not.

Fred Shava, the party’s director of administration whom embassy officials had been trying to meet for three months, told them that the issue of succession would not be discussed.

But it appears embassy officials were not convinced. They met deputy political commissar Sikhanyiso Ndlovu but he refused to discuss party issues and instead referred them to Mutasa. Embassy officials were unable to meet Mutasa.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 02HARARE2742, ZANU-PF CONFERENCE

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002742

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2012

TAGS: PGOV PINR ZI ZANU PF

SUBJECT: ZANU-PF CONFERENCE

Classified By: POLOFF KIMBERLY JEMISON FOR REASONS 1.5 C/D.

¶1. (C) Summary. The Zimbabwe ruling party,s annual

conference has been scheduled for December 11-15 in Chinhoyi.

No major changes in the ZANU-PF leadership or discussion of

a Mugabe succession are expected to be announced, although

the persistent rumor that ailing Vice President Simon Muzenda

will resign continues to make the rounds. End Summary.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

¶2. (C) Fred Shava, ZANU-PF,s Director of Administration,

confirmed to poloff on December 2 that ZANU-PF,s annual

conference will be held in Chinhoyi on December 11-15.

Unlike the ZANU-PF congress held every five years, half the

party,s 6,000 delegates will attend this year,s conference.

Harare diplomats will be invited to attend the opening

ceremony and embassies should receive their invitations

shortly, the director noted. Shava described the conference

as the party,s annual &management review,8 which is

different from the 5-year congress. The 5-year congress is

tasked with electing the party,s 280 member Central

Committee, whereas according to the ZANU-PF constitution, no

leadership changes can be made at a conference. The next

5-year congress will be in 2006. (NOTE: Poloff had been

trying to meet with Shava for 3 months but was always put

off. Shava expressed a desire to meet again in February,

after the December conference and administrative meetings in

January. END NOTE.)

¶3. (C) This year,s agenda will focus on land reform, price

controls, international relations, and the economy, according

to Shava. Shava seemed particularly interested in the state

of the economy and repairing international relations. He

also said there would not be a discussion of succession–a

stance seconded by party spokesman, Nathan Shamuyarira, in an

article in the December 1 edition of the GOZ-controlled

Sunday Mail. (NOTE: On November 19, Poloff met with party

deputy commissar Sikhanyiso Ndlovu who refused to discuss

party issues, deferring all questions to the Secretary for

External Affairs, Didymus Mutasa, with whom Poloff has been

unable to meet. END NOTE.)

COMMENT

——-

¶4. (C) This year,s ZANU-PF conference promises nothing new.

Both the party Director of Administration and the Spokesman

have dashed any hopes of a party-wide discussion of

succession by saying there will be no discussion of the issue

until 2006–two years before the next presidential election

and one year after the next parliamentary elections. We

expect no other major internal changes, although the rumor

that VP Muzenda will step down because of his failing

health–reportedly AIDS relate–continues to circulate. The

conference will most likely serve as a venue to defend the

party,s choices that have crippled the economy and

engendered a grave political crisis. END COMMENT.

SULLIVAN

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