The ruling ZANU PF party is reportedly pushing for the removal of all chairpersons of committees chaired by the opposition MDC Alliance.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Concillia Chinanzvavana, has become the first victim of the purge after Zanu PF members on Wednesday voted her out of her position during a post-budget meeting. MDC Chief Whip Prosper Mutseyami had this to say:

The MDC is entitled to chair eight parliamentary portfolio committees and now Zanu PF legislators are trying to use their numbers to vote our chairpersons out.

On Wednesday during the sitting of the Environment Portfolio Committee, they clandestinely voted out the chairperson Chinanzvavana (MDC) and made their party member Robson Mavenyengwa (Zaka North MP) to chair.

Analysts view the purging of MDC Alliance chairpersons as a ploy to protect ZANU PF benefactors, among them President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ally Kudakwashe Tagwirei of Sakunda Holdings.

On Friday last week Zanu PF MPs, who are members of the Tendai Biti-led Public Accounts Committee (PAC), walked out so that Tagwirei avoided grilling over US$3 billion payments for the Command Agriculture programme that the company failed to account for.