Mnangagwa hands over first batch of 700 vehicles for army chiefs amid party tensions

HARARE
–
Facing
growing
unease
within
his
own
Zanu
PF
party,
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
on
Monday
handed
over
102
vehicles
to
senior
army
commanders
in
what
observers
say
is
a
calculated
bid
to
shore
up
loyalty
and
insulate
his
regime
against
the
threat
of
a
coup.

The
information
ministry
said
the
vehicles
would
“bridge
a
significant
gap
in
the
conditions
of
service
for
senior
army
officers,
ensuring
they
receive
their
entitled
benefits,
including
vehicles,
ultimately
enhancing
their
welfare
and
operational
effectiveness
within
the
Zimbabwe
Defence
Forces.”

Pictures
released
by
the
ministry
showed
Mnangagwa
smiling
as
he
presented
the
keys
to
a
line
of
gleaming
off-road
trucks
at
the
Zimbabwe
National
Army
(ZNA)
Msasa
Logistics
Garrison
Depot
in
Harare.

Mnangagwa
said:
“The
vehicles
I’m
commissioning
today
are
under
the
first
phase
of
a
comprehensive
programme
that
will
see
the
government
procuring
vehicles,
inclusive
of
buses,
towards
enhancing
mobility
across
the
rank
and
file
of
the
ZDF.”

Presidency
spokesman
George
Charamba
said
“all
told,
the
ZDF
will
get
over
700
vehicles,
the
first
ever
time
that
ZDF
has
received
such
a
consignment
within
a
short-time
bracket.”

But
critics
immediately
questioned
the
timing
of
the
gesture,
noting
that
Mnangagwa
is
grappling
with
widening
cracks
in
Zanu
PF
following
his
sidelining
of
party
secretary
general
Obert
Mpofu
and
growing
tension
with
his
deputy,
Vice
President
Constantino
Chiwenga.

“This
is
classic
coup-proofing,”
a
Harare
political
analyst
told
ZimLive.

“Mnangagwa
knows
his
position
is
shaky,
and
in
Zimbabwe
the
army
remains
the
ultimate
arbiter
of
political
power.
Giving
generals
expensive
perks
is
a
way
of
buying
their
loyalty
at
a
time
when
the
succession
battle
is
heating
up.”

The
army’s
role
in
Zimbabwean
politics
remains
deeply
sensitive.
It
was
the
military
that
intervened
in
2017
to
depose
longtime
ruler
Robert
Mugabe,
paving
the
way
for
Mnangagwa
to
take
power
with
Chiwenga’s
backing.

Now,
with
Chiwenga
positioning
himself
as
a
reformist
championing
an
anti-corruption
campaign
against
business
elites
aligned
to
Mnangagwa,
the
president
is
increasingly
relying
on
patronage
to
consolidate
his
authority.

Millionaire
Zanu
PF
oligarchs
Kudakwashe
Tagwirei
and
Wicknell
Chivayo
have
lavished
over
300
vehicles
on
members
of
the
party’s
central
committee
and
provincial
chairmen
in
recent
weeks.

Neither
the
Ministry
of
Defence
nor
the
Zimbabwe
Defence
Forces
provided
details
of
the
cost
of
the
vehicles.
Chivayo
is
known
to
have
a
million-dollar
procurement
deal
with
the
military.