There appears to be a conflict of interest between the ZPRA Veterans Association and the substantive committee that was elected in January to engage the government over their seized properties after the latter placed an advertisement in the press calling on those in possession, occupying, or possessing any of their property to come forward.
The ZPRA Veterans Association, which only learnt of the advertisement after it was published last week, stated the organisation has a full list of their properties, and there is no need to issue a call for people to come forward.
The 11-member substantive committee was selected in a process coordinated by former War Vets minister and Zanu PF politburo member, Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube, who claimed he was assigned by Zanu PF Vice President Kembo Mohadi
Some ex-ZPRA veterans are already questioning the motives of this initiative.
“How can Mohadi preside over the restoration of properties owned by the State? Is he and Tshinga in government? The substantive committee should first report to the association before publishing notices,” they said.
In an interview with CITE, the spokesperson of the ZPRA Veterans Association, Buster Magwizi said the substantive committee was supposed to represent the former freedom fighters but was doing the opposite.
“This so-called substantive committee is not representative of the ZPRA but representative of those who came with the idea of forming that committee because the committee has taken the place of the process that was already running,” he said referring to their meeting with President Emmerson Mnanagwa in 2019.
“Matters were already in the pending tray of the president but now they have been removed from the pending tray and placed into another state actor, the political party – Zanu PF as represented by Tshinga Dube and Kembo Mohadi. This is where the contest is.”
Magwizi said the ZPRA properties were not confiscated by Zanu PF but were seized by the State.
“It is the State that has to negotiate with the non-state actors such as ZPRA who already had placed the matter in the pending tray of the president,” he said.
The ex-ZPRA spokesperson also accused the substantive committee of not updating the veterans.
“This leads to this advert because the terms of reference that should have led to this kind of an advert were not enunciated on the day of announcing the so-called substantive committee,” Magwizi said, noting it was possible such instructions were coming from an “invisible third hand” which was causing confusion.
“The ZPRA Veterans Association knows all their properties, so does the president and he knows there is a Caveat that closed the NITRAM Properties and the Registry in the judicial system has all the data details of each and every property that was confiscated by the State,” he said.
“So going to ask people is mischievous and devious. They are trying to buy time for people to find how best they can obliterate evidence of the properties and hide some of them or condition the ZPRA to negotiate otherwise either on mortgaging or disposing the properties or foregoing the properties completely.”
The ex-ZPRA spokesperson described these as “tricks employed by some people who have an ulterior motive and agenda to displace dialogue that was almost coming to fruition.”
“It’s either those people have vested interests in the properties themselves or are in the service of a hegemony which is those people who took the properties away from us,” said Magwizi who claimed he was unofficially removed from the committee for his ‘strong’ opinions.
“I was not told that I was stood down but have been blocked on the communications,” he said, adding in one of the meetings, he was told to “shut up” because he makes “a lot of noise.”
He also stated that some veterans were already asking who was in charge of that committee.
“Because of this impasse, we are having there is no voice or clarity. There is nothing because they are not explaining and telling people where they are and what they are doing. They are not reflecting, planning and actioning.”
Magwizi wondered whether President Mnangagwa is aware of this committee plus the “shenanigans of Tshinga and whosoever is controlling him.”
“We don’t know, however, it could be in the interest of Tshinga and Mohadi to want to protect Zanu PF, so that they can buy their space and comfort zones within Zanu PF for having a done a dirty job for Zanu PF at the expense of their erstwhile ZPRA,” he said.
Reached for comment, Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), George Charamba said the ex-ZPRA veterans know where to go regarding their properties.
“They know the channels and the doors are quite ajar so the route to the door is not via the media. It is very direct. The channels are clear and the readiness to listen to them is there,” he said.
Charamba said he could not comment on ZPRA meetings as he represented the government.
“Does it sound logical that a vice president of a party appoints another person on properties held by the government?” he asked.
