Zanu-PF Information and Publicity Director Farai Marapira has clarified that the issue of succession will not feature on the agenda at the ruling party’s upcoming National People’s Conference, scheduled to take place in Mutare from October 10 to 23, 2025.
Marapira said discussions around succession are strictly reserved for the Zanu-PF Congress, which is next due in 2027, and therefore will not be part of this year’s deliberations.
“Well, to educate the generality of Zimbabweans, succession is dealt with at Congress. We are not going to Congress. We have Congress in 2027. We are going to a conference. And the issue of succession is not an issue within Zanu-PF,” Marapira said.
He dismissed ongoing public debate about President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s succession as being driven by individuals outside the party. “If you look, most of the purveyors of this succession issue are not known to be members of Zanu-PF. They are known not to be within the structures of Zanu-PF. So, as Zanu-PF, we will not allow a conversation to be imported into the party,” he added.
Marapira said the Mutare conference will instead focus on reviewing progress toward fulfilling the mandate given to Zanu-PF by the electorate during the 2023 elections, emphasizing that economic development remains the party’s central agenda.
“We are going to conference to continue checking up on the mandate we received from the people in 2023. The issue is the economy. The people of Zimbabwe voted for President Mnangagwa so that he could continue taking Zimbabwe on a positive economic trajectory, and this is what we will be focused on,” he said.
Marapira also referenced the party’s 21st National People’s Conference held in Bulawayo in October 2024, where Resolution Number One called for the extension of President Mnangagwa’s term from 2028 to 2030. He said the resolution reaffirmed confidence in the current leadership and effectively ruled out any succession debate.
“Resolution number one actually speaks to the fact that succession is not yet a conversation. Resolution number one speaks to the perpetuation of the current. So, you cannot perpetuate the current and talk of succession at the same time,” Marapira explained.
The remarks come amid heightened speculation over President Mnangagwa’s political future and potential leadership changes within the ruling party, which has historically been cautious about open discussions on succession.
– online
