GOVERNMENT’s $10 million package to former President Robert Mugabe is nothing short of “asset stripping”, Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa has said.

In his party manifesto ahead of elections expected later this year, Dabengwa a former Home Affairs minister in Mugabe’s administration said his party will introduce a leaner government with less concentration of power on “one person”.

“Currently, the executive authority is excessively centralized in the person of the president. This enables the president to introduce instruments such as the jaw-dropping exit package offered to the former president, Robert Mugabe, which amounted to asset-stripping from our broke country and bleeding of citizens and future generations,” said Dabengwa.

A wartime hero in which he served as Zapu’s intelligence supremo, Dabengwa who walked out of Zanu PF to revive his old party in 2009, said the current system of governance gave those in power room to engage in patronage politics.

“In addition, the current system of appointment of ministers is characterized by nepotism and patronage. The result is a bloated government that gobbles up a huge part of the national fiscus,” he said.

Dabengwa added: “A Zapu government will establish a lean executive based on the principle of collective responsibility and proper accountability to Parliament and the people; make sure colossal long-tern burdening of citizens is scrutinized and approved by Parliament; streamline and restructure the entire governmental system to ensure efficiency and effectiveness”.

Since he revived the party, Dabengwa has remained out of Parliament and will be contesting as a presidential candidate.

Dabengwa recently walked out of a coalition with former Energy minister Elton Mangoma with whom he had, along with other small parties, formed the Coalition of Democrats (CODE).