admin
as President Mugabe and more than 6 000 delegates drawn from all corners of Zimbabwe are expected to arrive in the city for the Zanu-PF 12th Annual National People’s Conference.
The city’s hotels and lodges are reportedly fully booked mostly by delegates to the conference.
President Mugabe is expected to kick-start the four-day event by planting a tree at Milton High School to mark the launch of the National Tree Planting Day that is usually commemorated on the first Saturday of every December.
He will officially open the conference at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds tomorrow.
Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial chairman Cde Isaac Dakamela yesterday said the city was ready to receive thousands of delegates and expressed satisfaction with the preparations.
“The City of Kings and Queens is ready to receive the delegates in their large numbers tomorrow. We have done all the accommodation allocations and personnel have been selected to give directions to the guests,” said Cde Dakamela.
“Accommodation has been allocated according to categories that include Politburo members, Central Committee, provincial leaders, district coordinating committee (DCCs) and other stakeholders such as war veterans, restrictees and detainees association leaders.
“Accreditation would continue in the morning at the Bulawayo Polytechnic to cater for the few individuals who had not registered. We also expect President Mugabe to arrive tomorrow for the tree planting event at Milton High.”
Delegates would be accommodated in hotels, lodges, colleges and schools.
The schools where the delegates would be accommodated include Founders, Eveline Girls, Northlea, Gifford and Milton high schools. They all have good boarding facilities.
Other accommodation centres are the United College of Education (UCE), Hillside Teachers College, Bulawayo Polytechnic, Elangeni Training Centre, Lutheran Youth Centre and Westgate Training Centre.
ALSO SEE
In separate interviews, senior officials from Bulawayo hotels and lodges said they expected brisk business during the conference period.
They said they were fully booked, an indication that they will be kept busy throughout the conference.
“We are fully booked this week. This is an indication that there will be good business as a result of the conference. We will provide dinner, breakfast and accommodation to the delegates and that is good business for us,” said an official from Hotel Rio who preferred anonymity.
An official from Rainbow Hotel said the conference had boosted their bookings.
“All the rooms at our hotel are fully booked for this week and we are geared for brisk business,” said the official.
The lodges also expressed happiness with the conference, saying the event had brought life to their businesses.
“There is good business this week because of the conference and all our rooms are taken,” said an employee from Mpala Lodges.
Meanwhile, the business exhibition, which runs concurrently with the conference, kicked off at ZITF yesterday with 19 exhibitors and more than 50 informal traders taking up stands.
When a Chronicle news crew visited the venue in the afternoon, a number of exhibitors in the agricultural, mining, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors had already set up their stands.
Others were busy trying to put final touches on their stands.
The Zanu-PF national fundraising committee chairman, Cde Noah Mangondo, who was at the venue, expressed optimism that by the end of today all exhibitors would be on site.
A total of 40 companies and more than 150 informal traders are expected to participate at the business expo, which runs up to Saturday from 8am to 6pm.
Cde Mangondo said the exhibition was meant to boost business opportunities for indigenous Zimbabweans in line with the indigenisation and economic empowerment policies.
“Indigenisation is the brainchild of Zanu-PF and this exhibition seeks to promote the participation of ordinary Zimbabweans in the national economy. No wonder why we have more than 150 informal traders taking part in the expo as they seek to grow to become big companies,” said Cde Mangondo.
“The expo reinforces this year’s conference theme ‘Defend national sovereignty consolidate indigenisation and economic empowerment’, hence the full presence of the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB).
“As it is some of the companies have extended their stands in order to gain more exposure and effective interaction with other business partners.”
President Mugabe has said this year’s conference is very crucial as it is the last before the country holds the next harmonised elections scheduled for next year.
The revolutionary party is set to discuss among other things the state of the country’s economy with more emphasis on indigenisation, agriculture, mining and manufacturing. According to the party’s national chairman, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, the conference will among other things lay the groundwork for the party’s preparations for next year’s harmonised elections.
Online Reporter