Former MDC-Alliance top official Cde Blessing Chebundo has said he is honoured to be back in Zanu-PF, a party that he was a member of in 1980.
Cde Chebundo and another former top official in the opposition party Cde Lillian Timveos defected to Zanu-PF citing lack of direction and violent tendencies in the MDC Alliance.
In Zvishavane and Kwekwe a number of MDC-Alliance supporters are reported to have also joined the ruling party since the defection of the two senior officials who are from the two towns.
Cdes Chebundo and Timveos were last month welcomed by Zanu-PF First Secretary and President Cde Mnangagwa at State House where they held an hour long meeting.
The pair has since been introduced to Kwekwe and Zvishavane Zanu-PF leadership.
On Saturday they were introduced to the Midlands provincial leadership during the Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting that was held in Gweru.
They were welcomed by Politburo members, Cdes Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and July Moyo among other senior party members from the province.
Addressing the PCC, Cde Chebundo said he was back to his roots in Zanu-PF.
“The good part is that all Politburo members here, I know them, they are friends, they are relatives. I know them as Midlanders like me.
What a privilege, what an honour, I feel highly honored to be a member of Zanu-PF and I will bring experience and supporters so that we win elections as Zanu-PF under the astute leadership of President Mnangagwa,” he said.
Cde Chebundo said it was not an easy decision to jump ship.
“Today should be written down as history. I am happy to be home. I was born in Shurugwi and spent my life in the Midlands which is home to President Mnangagwa. In 1980 I was a Zanu-PF member. I was in the district structures and later joined the trade unions. When we formed MDC-T, the venue was my house and this means after 21 years in the wilderness, I am bringing wealth of experience, I am bringing my followers. My movement will help the party,” he said.
Cde Chebundo said politics is about growing the party and that is possible when Zanu-PF works together as a united front.
“I have said this before, I am not here for any position, it’s not about positions, It’s about getting our heads together. I will be very disappointed if the things that made us leave MDC-T also happen in Zanu-PF. The biggest enemy is having factions in the party and failure to respect offices. If we fail to do that we are finished,” he said.
Cde Timveous said she was joining Zanu-PF to work for the ruling party and President Mnangagwa.
“Thank you for welcoming me and I would like to thank President Mnangagwa, my father for welcoming us at State House. I am here to work for the party. I want to work for President Mnangagwa so that he wins the elections and let me reiterate that I am not here to take anyone’s position,” she said.
Zanu- PF Midlands Provincial chairperson Engineer Daniel Mackenzie Ncube said the two comrades will soon attend Chitepo School of Ideology to learn the values and principles of the ruling party.
“We want to win back the seats we lost to the opposition in Kwekwe, Gweru and Zvishavane hence the need to work together. We welcome these two comrades and we will learn a lot from them,” he said.
Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Larry Mavima said Zvishavane party structures have already started discussions with Cde Timveous in terms of how they can grow the party and the nation.
“As we speak, multitudes of MDC-Alliance supporters have crossed the floor in Zvishavane. We don’t have the exact figure right now and the same is happening in Kwekwe.
“This signals a surge in party supporters for the ruling party.
“We have a son from the Midlands, a son from Zvishavane who is in power. This is a God given time for President Mnangagwa to receive all the support we can give him and not to oppose for the sake of opposing. So, we shared the same thought and ground with Cde Chebundo and Cde Timveous,” he said.
— Chronicle
