HARARE – Florence Taruvinga is the new president of the Zimbabwe Trades Union Congress after defeating incumbent president Peter Mutasa at a congress on Friday, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
Taruvinga works as a technician for ZESA and was previously the first vice president of ZCTU.
Five of the 31 ZCTU-affiliated unions, including the Amalgamated Teachers Union (ARTUZ), were reportedly excluded from the investigation for delays in submitting the names of their delegates.
Mutasa and Taruvinga each had the support of 13 unions, but Taruvinga prevailed because the unions they supported had more voting delegates based on their membership.
Florence Taruvinga received 73 votes against 59 for Mutasa.
Valentine Chikosi and Nicholas Mazarura were elected first and second vice-presidents, respectively, while Douglas Chiradza will serve as general treasurer.
Runesu Dzimiri and Kudakwashe Munengiwa are the first and second deputy general secretaries. Japhet Moyo remains General Secretary and his future is decided by the ZCTU General Council.
ARTUZ said in a tweet on Friday evening: “Those who stopped us from voting won”.
He added: “We cannot congratulate them because they still have something to deliver. We will follow their example and only congratulate them when they truly stand up for workers’ rights.
A legal petition to stop the ARTUZ Congress earlier this week was dismissed by the High Court on procedural grounds.
Even before the start of the elections, there were fears that the Zanu PF government might want to sponsor a candidate in the hope of neutralizing the Zimbabwean trade union centre.
