PRESIDENT Mnangagwa met chiefs from the Matabeleland region and the Midlands Province at State House in Bulawayo yesterday but was left fuming after claiming that Chiefs from his Midlands province were invited for the meeting on tribal bases.
Mnangagwa burst out to speak on the issue before his time to speak in the programme heavily condemning organisers of the meeting for tribal discrimination.
The chiefs had also requested for the removal of Chiefs Council Chairman Chief Fortune Charumbira from the meeting on claims that he was not friendly to the causes of the region.
President Mnangagwa declined the requests to have deliberations in the absence of Charumbira.
“First, I was requested that the president of the chief’s council, when you give your grievances, should be absent,” he said. “I am saying as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe we need transparency, accountability and no secrets and the president of the chiefs’ council Chief Charumbira will remain here.
“Secondly, I received a letter from some two chiefs requesting me to meet them here in Bulawayo, chiefs from Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South, I’m now informed that chiefs from my province, Midlands have been picked, selected on the basis of tribe. I don’t like that.
“We in the Midlands are united, we will not accept to be divided, so the chiefs from Midlands will remain in this indaba, but they will not speak because of the basis in which they have been brought here.”
Speaking in his opening remarks, an embarrassed Charumbira pleaded for unity amongst the chiefs. He said traditional leaders played an important role in the development and unity of communities.
“What’s more important is the issue of unity in the country,” said Chief Charumbira. “As a country, we can’t afford disunity, other countries have paid highly and when you see the experiences of other countries you see that it is important that we should work towards unity everywhere you are.”
Giving a vote of thanks, chief’s council deputy president Chief Mtshane Khumalo a close ally to Charumbira said the attempt to exclude Chief Charumbira was not the stance of the generality of chiefs from Matabeleland, but just one or two individuals.
He said it would have been unfair had the meeting been allowed to exclude Chief Charumbira as leader of traditional leaders in the country.
The meeting was also attended by Provincial Affairs Ministers for Bulawayo Judith Ncube, Matabeleland North Richard Moyo, Matabeleland South Abednico Ncube, Midlands Larry Mavima and deputy minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Jennifer Mhlanga.