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CHARAMBA - MLISWA CLASH SIGNALS DEEPENING RIFT IN ZIMBABWE'S POWER DYNAMICS : AS AFFILIATES 4ED PARALLEL POWER PROBLEM UNDERMINE STATE AUTHORITY : YET SPOKESPERSONS MUST SPEAK : SECURITY ORGANS MUST SECURE : PROTOCOL OFFICERS MUST CONTROL PROTOCOL : MINISTERS MUST MINISTER : PARTY STRUCTURES MUST LEAD PARTY AFFAIRS. BY RTD DIO MPESWE SHEPHERD The recent exchange between George Charamba & Temba Mliswa has once again exposed the rise of parallel power centres that operate outside formal party and state structures, yet increasingly appear to wield greater influence than the offices they shadow. What should be a matter of institutional authority has become a contest of personalities, patronage and informal command. Charamba, a veteran spokesperson known for his sharp defence of government positions, recently shared an old video of South African EFF leader Julius Malema warning President Cyril Ramaphosa against ignoring critics & Chapter 9 institutions while favouring unelected capitalists. The post was interpreted by Mliswa as a veiled critique of President Emmerson Mnangagwa & his inner circle. Mliswa then accused Charamba of disloyalty, called for his immediate dismissal & also threatened to expose a broader "cartel" that, according to him, is undermining President ED. However, George Charamba’s long public service record cannot be erased by the noise of political opportunists. Personally & of recent, I have publicly clashed with George Charamba several times on X over the handling and substance of CAB3 by Government however it is difficult to deny that he represents a class of seasoned state professionals who understand the machinery of government, the discipline of protocol and the importance of institutional memory. It is sad when such high profile figures are treated as disposable whenever they become inconvenient to the ambitions of informal power brokers. This is not new. Zimbabwe has seen this pattern before. In the last years of Robert Mugabe’s rule, the state was increasingly hijacked by a parallel political ecosystem in which the formal Presidency coexisted with a louder & more reckless inner circle. The result was disorder, quietly deepening factionalism and eventual collapse. Today, echoes of that same disease are visible again. The difference is that this time the parallel structure is more oiled in state loot & more polished in adamancy. However the real danger lies in the erosion of clear lines of authority. When party structures are bypassed, when government offices are undermined by freelance political enforcers and when loyalty to the centre is measured not by competence but by proximity then the state begins to malfunction. Decisions are no longer made through formal processes but through informal whispers, patronage networks and the approval of individuals who hold no official mandate. That is why the rise of figures like Temba Mliswa who is the apparent de facto spokesperson of the Precabe Politburo is so destructive. They create confusion about who speaks for the state, who advises the President and who actually governs. More seriously, they intimidate institutions into silence. Professionals are harassed into submission, while those who thrive on chaos are rewarded with access, influence and impunity. It is very worrisome to hear that during the recent private visit by South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa's to ED's Precabe farm, Charamba reportedly arrived in his official capacity but was denied access to the meeting. This incident alone is indicative of the now rampant protocol and vetting failures which have since normalised convicted figures like Wicknell Chivayo to mingle freely with President ED & other dignitaries. 1 of 2 @advocatemahere @mawarirej @schikanza @BitiTendai @ibbosnr @ConvoWithTrevor @Sophie_Mokoena @kerinamujati @LynneStactia @matinyarare @ChangeRadioZW @NewsHawksLive




































