BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA FORMER MDC vice-president Obert Gutu, who recently defected to the ruling Zanu PF party, has been shortlisted as one of the 30 candidates to fill eight vacancies at the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). But analysts yesterday described Gutu’s nomination for the NPRC as a tactic by government to reward him for defecting from the opposition party to the ruling Zanu PF party. The NPRC public interviews will be conducted by the Parliament Standing Rules and Orders Committee on April 16 following the expiry of the term of office of the outgoing commissioners. Six ex-members of the commission have been shortlisted for re-appointment and these include former deputy chairperson Lillian Chigwedere and Leslie Dube, among others. Another big name on the shortlist is former executive director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association, Okay Machisa. Political analyst Alexander Rusero said Gutu’s shortlisting was a political charade by Zanu PF to prove that if opposition members dumped their parties in favour of the ruling party, they would be rewarded. “Zanu PF is operating on the logic of making all people in the opposition realise that there are dividends in joining Zanu PF rather than opposing for eternity,” Rusero said. “Constitutionally,  commissions  are supposed to be  apolitical, but the reality of the matter is that  once you are serving in those commissions, in one way or the other, you have partisan bias  of Zanu PF.” Rusero said Gutu’s shortlisting is testimony that if one defects to Zanu PF, they automatically have a ticket for lucrative positions. The commissioners have packages such as top-of-the-range cars and other benefits. Some of the functions of the NPRC include ensuring post-conflict justice, healing and reconciliation, as well as developing and implementing programmes to promote national healing and peaceful conflict resolution in the country. Follow Miriam on Twitter @FloMangwaya

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