‘We’ve registered three million members so far’

22 Aug, 2021 - 00:08 0 Views
‘We’ve registered three million members so far’

The Sunday Mail

ZANU PF intends to increase its registered voters to five million to ensure a resounding victory in the 2023 elections. Under a campaign code-named “Be part of the 5 million votes for President ED”, the party seeks to mobilise grassroots to join its cell structures and court new members, especially first-time voters. Our reporter RICHARD MUPONDE sat down with ZANU PF Director for Information and Publicity Cde Tafadzwa Mugwadi to take stock of the campaign.

Q: Give us an overview of the five million votes campaign.

A: The Vice President and Second Secretary of the Party, Cde KCD Mohadi, following his redeployment to the party on a full-time basis, has begun a process to put his feet on the ground, reinvigorating party structures and members through the ongoing cell registration programme. The tentative code-name of the campaign is “Be part of the 5 million votes”, where the party is mobilising the youth, women, the elderly, the Diaspora, the business community and, most importantly, first-time voters to join the ZANU PF revolutionary train – the party of Independence, the party of heroes, the party of game-changers, the party of the people, the party of the workers – and work with our President and First Secretary, His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa, to transform our country into an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

Q: Out of the five million voters targeted, have you reached a specific figure to date?

A: As we intensify this membership recruitment drive, I must say the entire leadership of the party, from the top to the bottom, and all its organs and departments are buoyed by the footprints marking the giant success story of the New Dispensation.

We could not have been this enthusiastic if our Government was not performing well, but because we have moved mountains and registered milestones in implementing our 2018 People’s Manifesto through tangible developmental initiatives, there is no doubt in our minds that we will achieve the five million votes.

What is most interesting to share is that due to our strategy — which of course I cannot share but is spearheaded by all party departments supervised by the Vice President Cde KCD Mohadi assisted by the Secretary for Administration Cde Obert Mpofu — we are currently standing above three million members using the party cell register. With this, it has become clear that we are set to surpass the five million target because more and more people are coming home to the party, jumping from sinking suicidal ships among the jetsam and flotsam in the opposition.  That is exactly the character of the revolutionary party — it must mobilise, recruit and welcome its comrades who elect to trace their roots back to it. It also pardons those who might have used the wrong road in the past and rehabilitates them to contribute to the party’s growth.

Q: As a party, are you happy with the response the campaign is receiving from the grassroots?

A: To say we are happy is an understatement. To put it bluntly, we are walking tall; we are humbled by the overwhelming response from our people, particularly the young people, especially those who are turning 18 years and those that have just turned 18 years. Looking at the demographic data shown from the cell registers and branch structures, the majority of our members are the young boys and young girls who are set to be first-time voters by 2023, and, honestly speaking, that is a thumping and powerful vote of confidence in the revolutionary party and its indomitable leader Cde ED Mnangagwa.

Q: What do you think was the cause of this overwhelming response by potential first-time voters?

A: It would be crucial to highlight that the major reason why we are being oversubscribed in terms of mobilisation is the persona of our President, our torch-bearer and statesman whose principles of servant leadership, listening leadership, productive orientation, pragmatic disposition, coupled with his unifying attitude, places us among the strongest and invincible political outfits in Africa, known for our unwavering addiction to the party’s founding principles.

Remember, Zimbabweans are very intelligent people. Using comparative lenses, they have seen that ZANU PF and President Mnangagwa are clear, focused and committed to production, action and less of blah blah blah. We pledged in 2018 that we will put our focus on roads and the President has put an indelible signature on the roads; we said we will deal with inflation, and, yes, prices have stabilised; we said we will deal with distorted exchange rates, currency manipulation, distortions and speculation, and indeed the foreign currency auction system dealt with these vices overnight.

Q: What other factors do you think had a pull factor to new members for them to have this appetite to join the ruling party?

A: We said we will reclaim our breadbasket status in terms of food security and indeed the Pfumvudza/ Intwasa farming programme, backed by the Presidential Agricultural Inputs Support Scheme and the newly erected irrigation infrastructure, have enhanced food security, no wonder why we have banned grain imports because we are set to be exporting the same.

We said we will turn around mining to ensure that it becomes a key contributor to the GDP and true to our word, the massive investments in the mining sector and the mineral outputs have increased drastically, changing the lives of young people across the nation. We said we will bring a robust and modern public transport system for our people and yes, ZUPCO is back with a bang, cheap, less chaotic and reliable.

We can also talk of the jobs created both directly and indirectly, as the Second Republic, under the Zimbabwe is “Open for Business” mantra, we have reformed investment laws to attract both local and foreign direct investment, all of which have injected oxygen to industries that had ran out of steam.

Talk of the massive infrastructure revolution headlined by modernisation and expansion of our ports of entry — airports, borders, health infrastructure, educational infrastructure, water infrastructure, among many infrastructural developments.

Talk of our nation being commended for being one of the leading nations in Africa in terms of Covid-19 vaccination despite that some prophets of doom had condemned our health infrastructure. All these attest to the seriousness of the people’s party, ZANU PF. It is the only way forward and there is no other way.

Q: Why do you think youths will vote for ZANU PF in 2023?

A: I must say for the first time that ZANU PF’s victory in 2023 will be hinged on the shoulders of young people between 18 and 38 years. This is because President ED Mnangagwa and the ZANU PF Government have placed our young people at the centre of all developmental objectives, unveiling productive business entrepreneurial and empowerment projects to make them productive.

There are now more youths in agriculture, mining, tourism, transport sector, retail, banking and other areas than they were previously, as evidenced by an emerging group of black, young middle-class entrepreneurs.

This is why there is an overwhelming response from this demographic group, coupled of course with the tireless efforts from the Youth League, which has been at the forefront to champion projects that benefit our young people.

Q: What message can the ruling party send to all those who want to join?

A: It is never too late to join ZANU PF and be part of the five million voters for President Mnangagwa and our entire ZANU PF candidates. Yes, it is a democratic right, fought for by ZANU PF (ZANU and ZAPU), to support anything of one’s choice, be it in football, cricket, music genres et cetera, but when it comes to defending Zimbabwe’s national interest, our land, our culture, Ubuntu, our unity and oneness, our independence, our resources, our history of liberation, our heritage, our peace and our right to self-determination, the choice is ZANU PF only.

When it comes to taking the country and its people forward through accelerated development that creates jobs, turn around our economy, stabilise our currency, making our land productive, modernising our roads and other infrastructure, ending polarisation and building bridges through dialogue and taking our country to an upper middle-income economy by 2030, the only serious choice is ZANU PF.

Of course, yes, there is a cross section of those that enjoy making noise and whistling in the opposition graveyard.

That is them and it’s their right to do so, except that it will end in the graveyard because as often the President says, ZANU PF is and shall be here as the ruling party as long Zimbabweans exist, and it shall be a legacy to be bequeathed from generation to generation.

Q: How do you rate your rivals, the opposition parties?

A: Frankly and honestly, there is no opposition in Zimbabwe at the moment that poses a threat to ZANU PF and President ED Mnangagwa’s imminent 2023 election victory.

The achievements that ZANU PF has registered so far and continue to register despite the Covid-19 pandemic have put a final nail on the coffin of all those other political upstarts whose only success story is splitting annually.

We feel sorry for them but we can hardly do anything, for the fall of puppets and Trojan Horses is a cause for rejoice among revolutionaries and patriots.

With President ED Mnangagwa leading us as our candidate for the next elections, I can assure you that 2023 is a foregone conclusion, for the party’s victory is guaranteed. The opposition is in disarray, it is in tatters and in that state, it cannot organise to win.

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