The ruling Zanu PF party yesterday lashed out at Central Committee member Cde Blessing Geza for making treasonous and outrageous statements calculated to cause alarm and despondency in the country.
At the same time, war veterans reiterated their clarion call for President Mnangagwa's term to be extended to 2030, saying it is the wish of the majority of Zimbabweans as unequivocally expressed at the Zanu-PF Annual National People's Conference in Bulawayo last year.
Although the ruling party is unanimous that President Mnangagwa's term of office must be extended for a further two years, Cde Geza has been trying to derail the people's train.
In choreographed Press conferences, Cde Geza has attacked President Mnangagwa and sought to silence the countrywide chorus for the President's term of office to be extended.
Mashonaland West Province, to which Cde Geza belongs, has since recommended his expulsion from the party with immediate effect.
In a statement yesterday, Zanu PF secretary for Information and Publicity, Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa, said the utterances by Cde Geza were couched to "smear credentials of the majority of war veteran entities in good standing with Zanu PF.
"The outlandish, treasonable and egregious rantings of errant Runesu Geza offended the hallowed tenets of party discipline for a member of the Central Committee.
"They also involved reckless attempts to usurp the credentials of war veteran entities in good standing with Zanu PF, the party of the Permanent Zimbabwe Revolution," he said.
As such, Cde Mutsvangwa added, relevant organs of the party are currently seized "with this contravention as it is holistically and expeditiously handled and dispensed with".
The party, he said, assures its members of the absolute loyalty of the rank and file to President Mnangagwa and that they retain full confidence in the legal implementation of Resolution Number One adopted at the National People's Conference under the aegis of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The development comes as the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) has said President Mnangagwa is the democratically elected President by the majority of Zimbabweans for a five-year term and any utterances calling for his resignation, such as those made by Cde Geza, were improper and careless.
Speaking at the launch of the Presidential War Veterans Fund in Kujogo Village, Centenary, Muzarabani, Mashonaland Central, the Secretary for War Veterans, Ex-Political Prisoners, Detainees and Restrictees, Cde Douglas Mahiya, it is not forbidden for Zanu PF to support President Mnangagwa to continue at the helm for an extended period.
"Who can remember war veterans if he is no longer there? What the party has agreed upon cannot be undone. One individual cannot reverse what the people have agreed to do. To go against the resolutions of the party is to turn against your country.
"No small group of war veterans will dictate to the party; it is the party that guides us. The principles of the revolution dictate that the minority is subordinate to the majority," he said.
Cde Mahiya urged all war veterans to align with the party and encouraged them to engage constructively with the President, who he described as a listening leader and a servant of the people.
"We have no right to instruct or threaten the Government or the police. We don't dictate to the Government; they should carry out their work. Don't speak on behalf of other war veterans. We support Zanu PF and President Mnangagwa because leadership is ordained by God," he said in reference to Cde Geza.
Recognising the widows of war veterans, Cde Mahiya announced that the League is in the process of establishing a trust fund to benefit and uplift their livelihoods.
Dr Paul Tungwarara, the Special Advisor to the President on Investment, presented US$150,000 allocated for Mashonaland Central.
Additionally, he awarded US$5,000 to a successful village business unit in Muzarabani, US$3,000 to Drumada village business unit, and US$200 to each of the 80 war veterans who attended the launch.
Dr Tungwarara indicated that the fund is accessible to all war veterans, who can borrow it at zero percent interest.
He also announced a new initiative for borehole drilling at the homes of each war veteran, which was discussed during the event.
Dr Tungwarara emphasised that war veterans are foundational figures for every businessman in the country.
"People died for this country so that business people could engage in mining and other enterprises," he said.
Cde Kazembe Kazembe, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, who is also the Zanu PF provincial chairperson, explained that the fund will empower war veterans to embark on entrepreneurial ventures and sustainable businesses that will improve their livelihoods.
"The loans, managed at the provincial level, will foster self-reliance and restore dignity to our war veterans. We are building an ecosystem where they actively participate in economic maintenance, generating income and employment," he said.
Cde Kazembe said the fund would be continuously reviewed and increased based on the diligence and honesty demonstrated by the war veterans in repaying the loans, thereby allowing more beneficiaries to gain access.
He expressed gratitude for the empowerment of war veterans, saying the province has engaged local councils to set aside quotas for war veterans in the allocation of residential stands.
"They have suffered enough, and as a province, we are focused on how to support our war veterans," Cde Kazembe said.
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Cde Zhemu Soda, the Member of Parliament for Muzarabani and DCC chairperson, said the launch was held in Muzarabani due to the significant role it played in the liberation struggle.
Despite the short notice, thousands of people attended the launch out of love for the party and President Mnangagwa.
Cde Soda said Government programmes and projects are benefitting Muzarabani, particularly in areas like farming and relief efforts.
Deputy Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle, Cde Headman Moyo, expressed deep gratitude to President Mnangagwa for offering an interest-free revolving fund.
Cde John Kwara, chairperson of the provincial War Veterans League, expressed his unwavering support for Zanu PF and President Mnangagwa.
The Chairperson of War Collaborators in Muzarabani, Cde Jeffrey Chigombe, said they were grateful for the Second Republic's transformative work and facilitating the vetting process.
"President Mnangagwa is an able leader together with his deputies. He must see through the developments that he started, including the compensation of war collaborators," he said.
"We failed to attain educational qualifications due to the war. We never turned against Zanu PF because of the delays in compensation. We are confident that our time will come because the President will never forget us."
