The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
The ZANU PF Manicaland provincial executive has embarked on a healing process to bridge fall-outs emanating from recently held provincial elections — with losers and winners in Makoni shaking hands and promising to work together and ensure that the party wins both the forthcoming by-elections and the 2023 harmonised elections.
Makoni District Coordinating Committee (DCC) chairman, Cde Albert Nyakuedzwa contested for the provincial chairmanship and lost to Cde Mike Madiro.
During last Saturday’s meeting, Cde Nyakuedzwa pledged to rally his supporters to work with Cde Madiro to ensure an emphatic victory in the forthcoming by-elections and the harmonised elections in 2023.
If the Makoni inter-district meeting was meant to serve as a barometer to gauge the acceptability of the new executive, then the Cde Madiro-led executive passed the test.
The meeting achieved the unexpected as previously bitter rivals calmly discussed politics.
The talking points hinged on unity of winning and losing candidates, as well as the by-elections scheduled for March 26.
In an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, Cde Madiro said a united Manicaland could set a new record of victory in the forthcoming elections.
He also said the candidate selection process should be through within a week.
“At the moment we are putting a base and we want to make sure that we identify the people who will represent the party through democratic and transparent primary elections. From there, especially in Chikanga-Dangamvura, we need to work hard to wrestle it from the opposition. As you are aware, the urban set-up is not a piece of cake, but a hard nut, and we need to work hard to ensure victory. This, therefore requires unity, instead of divisions.
“The mission is to introduce the new leadership which was elected as provincial executive members, particularly those who hail from Makoni. The elections were hotly contested, and there are those who succeeded and those who did not, and emotions are very high. It is now our responsibility to make sure that those who did not succeed accept the outcome while those who succeeded have the magnanimity to embrace their fellow comrades so that we move forward together.
“We need to move forward together with one clear objective to win the 2023 elections. We are here to manage the fall-out which is apparent after elections. We need to help the people who contested to settle down quickly because we have got by-elections just around the corner. Beyond the by-elections, we need to build a strong base to make sure Manicaland wins the 2023 harmonised elections,” said Cde Madiro.
“With unity, we can achieve all this in Manicaland. There is nothing that will stop Manicaland from becoming the best in terms of support come 2023,” he said.
He said he was impressed by the reasoning and understanding exuded by the contestants and the electoral college.
“What I was hearing from the grapevine is the complete opposite of the actual situation on the ground. There is a camaraderie revolutionary spirit in Makoni. The party is strong, and the people are happy, which is what we expect after an election,” said Cde Madiro.
He said their other mission is to encourage people to work hard during this cropping season and produce enough to ensure food security in the province.
“We need to move away from these fights and make sure that we focus on economic activities, especially in the agriculture sector, so that we can feed the nation,” said Cde Madiro.
Central Committee members Cde Shadreck Chipanga and Dr Joseph Made as well as Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere also attended the meeting.
