Zanu PF restructures cells, villages

07 Jun, 2024 - 00:06 0 Views
Zanu PF restructures cells, villages ZANU PF national secretary for legal affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa addresses the party’s Provincial Coordination Committee (PCC) meeting at Marymount Teachers’ College last Saturday. Following proceedings are ZANU PF Manicaland provincial chairman, Cde Tawanda Mukodza (right) and a director at the party’s headquarters, Cde Collin Mharadzano. - Picture: Tinai Nyadzayo

 

Samuel Kadungure
News Editor

ZANU PF will this weekend convene inter-district meetings across the province to activate grassroots structures ahead of the first phase of the restructuring of party cells and villages — with focus on serving the people, entrenching democracy and fortifying support base at lower levels.

The meetings will be held in the party’s eight administrative districts to cascade the framework for the restructuring programme.

Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairman, Cde Tawanda Mukodza said inter-district meetings will be followed by inter-branch meetings on June 15 and 16 to equip branch executive committees with the necessary information on how to execute their duties.

The branch executives will spearhead the restructuring of party cells and villages in areas under their jurisdiction.

This, he said, will be done under strict supervision of the district coordinating committees, provincial, Central Committee and Politburo leadership to ensure transparency, equity, fairness and credibility.

This follows the Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting held last weekend where the period spanning from June 17 to July 17 was set for the restructuring exercise.

“Party members are the most important element of building a strong political party, and this exercise will certainly transform the ruling party and will work more effectively to accommodate all sections or groups in the province.

“Inevitably, party members influence systems and re-energise the party, a reason why we rank this as a crucial membership drive. We will break with the past, and avoid dodgy or fake cell structures that disenfranchise and create onlookers out of thousands of party members and stakeholders in the province. The grassroots organising thrust is a powerful exercise that should accommodate all those interested in the party. Members should come out in large numbers and join the party structures,” said Cde Mukodza,

Cde Mukodza, who has been confirmed as the substantive provincial party leader, said the cells and villages are the vanguard of the revolutionary party, representing its interests, expressing its aspirations and mobilising the membership to win future elections and develop their areas.

He urged those previously left out to come forward and be part of the party cells to strengthen its grassroots, organisational and mass mobilisation units.

“A healthy and resilient democracy is based on inclusiveness which ZANU PF as a political party is in a key position to safeguard. We need to sustain an atmosphere of inclusiveness, particularly at the grassroots so that everyone is included.

“Those who were previously excluded and marginalised should come on board. We want everyone to be a member. ZANU PF’s strength is anchored in vibrant grassroots structures, and we have opened the opportunity for everyone to come on board and fully participate in party activities and processes. We appreciate that power is for the people, and this power in ZANU PF is derived from the grassroots,” said Cde Mukodza.

ZANU PF national secretary for legal affairs, Cde Patrick Chimanasa said the new cell registers will capture essential details of party members.

He said members comprising cells and villages will meet during the first weekend of July 2024 to conduct a self-verification exercise to authenticate the membership of their respective organs.

The second phase of the restructuring programme will involve the deployment of officials from the party headquarters and provinces to conduct a final verification of the membership in the new cells and villages.

Cde Chinamasa also proposed that registration starts at the age of 13, saying those in that group bracket will be eligible to vote in 2028.

“We should start to politicise our children at school because they will be the virgin voters in 2028. We were politicised at that age, and we should find a deliberate way to get into schools, not to politic, but to educate them on where we are coming from and going as a country,” he said.

Cde Chinamasa also urged party members to respect traditional leaders, and find ways to work in harmony with those who may be hostile to the ruling party.

“Do whatever it takes to win their support. Find ways to win and work with them well. Traditional leaders are being targeted by the enemy, and we should not sit on our laurels while the opposition poach them,” he said.

He also said Government remains committed to ensuring that no one dies of hunger.

Cde Chimanasa said plans are already underway to distribute food aid to vulnerable communities following the El Nino-induced drought that ravaged the 2023/24 agricultural season in Manicaland.

Cde Chinamasa urged the local leadership to ensure that they guard against corrupt individuals who may want to amass the relief aid at the expense of needy households, adding that food aid being rolled out by Government is for everyone and should not be distributed on partisan basis.

“You should closely monitor to see if it is being done through the existing traditional leadership structures. We need to ensure a fair distribution, and work in conjunction with traditional leaders so that the party does not lose its support base. We don’t need the food aid to end up being grabbed by a few corrupt individuals at the expense of those genuinely in need.

 

“Government is for everyone, and so is the food aid. It should not be distributed on partisan lines. It is the responsibility of Government to feed its citizens, and we want everyone to survive. You can’t dictate who should get and not. No, that is wrong. We are all entitled to food aid,” said Cde Chinamasa.

 

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