13 Perm Secs Face The Axe As Mnangagwa Admin Purges Mugabe Sympathisers

Thirteen Permanent Secretaries and dozens of senior bureaucrats are reported to be facing the axe as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration moves to purge all of former President Robert Mugabe’s loyalists and sympathizers. A senior government official who spoke to The Zimbabwe Independent said,

Sweeping changes are coming across the entire civil service. After permanent secretaries are retired, they will move to directors and deputy directors. We believe a wide-ranging purge is underway, applying to people who had ties to former president Mugabe. The purge is intended to get rid of everyone even remotely associated with him because the new guys want people they know are loyal to them.

…They want to give the impression that this is all about the retirement age but everyone knows the politics behind it. You remember that, only recently, they increased the retirement age for those in the army to 70 years and this is being seen as a move to cushion them against the impending purges. They will even extend it to the lowest office bearers as a cover.

Some of the permanent secretaries reported to be the targets include Machivenyika Mapuranga (Higher Education ministry); Sylvia Utete-Masango (Primary and Secondary Education) and Melusi Matshiya, secretary for Home Affairs.  This comes after Mnangagwa fired directors from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) who deemed close to former president Robert Mugabe and former CIO Director General Happyton Bonyongwe.

More: The Zimbabwe Independent