Former Zanu PF Hurungwe West MP and staunch supporter of President Robert Mugabe, Temba Mliswa, has said the nonagenarian leader must relinquish power and pave way for new blood.

Mliswa said Mugabe — turning 93-years-old next month — can no longer cope with the demands of being president and “there are people within Zanu PF who are capable of taking over”.

Speaking to South African television station, ANN7, he suggested that Mugabe must leave the throne to his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is currently embroiled in a bitter succession wrangle with a rival faction known as Generation 40 (G40).

“…he (Mugabe) must also protect his legacy… my message to him is…I think it’s about time he steps down,” Mliswa said.

“We want him to tell us about the history…. who Robert Mugabe is, the same way the South Africans enjoyed (Nelson) Mandela telling the stories about the struggle, we gonna (going to) miss that from him and time is moving and for sure there are people within Zanu PF who are capable of taking over,” he said.

“Zanu PF is in power until 2018 and there is no reason he (Mugabe) cannot pass the baton on to…Mnangagwa, not that I like him but he is a 2IC (second in command) in the party and they can go to a congress and put him there…,” Mliswa said.

Mliswa’s remarks come amid fierce squabbling in Zanu PF over Mugabe’s successor.
During the interview, Mliswa spoke widely about the political situation in Zimbabwe and the problems likely to be faced by opposition parties in forming a coalition ahead of next year’s general elections.

He said the coalition is a sinking ship, considering that it is not preparing on the modalities around the alliance.

“…by the end of 2016, they (opposition parties) could have agreed on what to do, which constituencies the MPs are gonna stand and start working on the ground because 72 percent of the electorate is from the rural areas and as a result 2016 came, it’s gone and they are not working on it, this is where the ship sinks,” Mliswa said, adding that what is needed in Zimbabwe is a leader.

He added that “as we speak, there is no political organisation which is on the ground, this is the reason why we keep talking about social media and unfortunately, social media does not vote.

“The 72 percent who are the majority of the electorate are in the rural areas, they don’t have smart phones and they don’t have money to buy data bundles…”

He, however, said MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai must be the one to lead the coalition, in the event of the idea coming to fruition, because of his support base.

“I have always been on record that the biggest party led by Tsvangirai should lead the coalition because of the empirical evidence which is there pertaining to the election results of 2013 and 2008.

“MDC has always been the biggest party so it is a no-brainer for any other political party which has not been tested in any election to then assume leadership in the coalition,” Mliswa said. Daily News