Online Reporter
Joseph Madzimure, [email protected]
ZANU-PF cells constitute the party’s core foundation and the revolutionary party’s strength and endurance depend on that organ, President Mnangagwa has said.
The President, who is the revolutionary party’s First Secretary, made the remarks yesterday while addressing the 131st Ordinary Session of the Central Committee in Harare.
He said the Cell and Village meetings are crucial, as they are the level at which the people’s development needs are first identified.
“Zanu-PF remains the home of the People’s Revolution. Comrades, the strength and durability of any building or infrastructure lie in a strong foundation.
“In Zanu-PF, our foundation is the Cell/Village structure. I commend the Central Committee and Party as a whole for the successful Cell/Village verification programme during the recent National Cell Day. This was a mammoth task, which ensured that our membership database is accurate and our structures are genuine,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said it is at Cell/Village level where the ideology of Zanu-PF is nurtured and where the developmental needs of the people are identified.
“If the Cell/Village structure is robust, the Party remains invincible and unstoppable,” President Mnangagwa said.
He said the objective of holding cell/village meetings was to have an ideologically grounded membership.
“Our overall goal, therefore, is not just to have names on the registers, but to have an ideologically grounded membership, which is always guided by the provisions of our Party Constitution. Tose tinosungirwa kuziva neku tevedza gwara remusangano,” President Mnangagwa said.
He called for discipline and loyalty among party cadres.
“Discipline, integrity and loyalty to the Party and patriotism to our country should be anchored and promoted at the cell level. This is the hallmark of Zanu-PF.
“In line with our principle of leaving no one and no place behind and participatory governance, the Cell/Village Level should also become centres for deliberations on economic empowerment matters at the grassroots level as well as the promotion of upright living, preservation of our culture and value systems,” said President Mnangagwa.
He called for unity among party members, saying collective party interests should take precedence over individual preferences.
“There is no room for divisions, regionalism, tribalism and narrow ambitions that override the collective interest of the Party. We are one body, from the Cells to the Presidium, bound by the Party Constitution and collective decisions of the Party. We must all toe the correct line of the revolution,” President Mnangagwa said.
He said the Central Committee carried the weighty responsibility of millions of people who have entrusted it to guide the party.
“The Central Committee gathers, not out of tradition or mere routine. We are cognisant that we carry the weighty responsibility and have been entrusted by the millions of Party members to guide the Party forward in line with our sacred Party Motto, ‘Unity, Peace and Development,’” President Mnangagwa said.
“Equally, the Central Committee is alive to the fact that the Great Zimbabwe Monument on the Zanu-PF Emblem represents the obligation we have to our great motherland, Zimbabwe. We have the duty bestowed on us by history, the Party Constitution as well as our collective choices to advance the national interest and people’s aspirations for socio-economic development and prosperity.”
He said the party stood ready to defend and protect the country’s sovereignty.
“We shall never drop the baton. Under the Second Republic, our colossal revolutionary mass Party, Zanu-PF and indeed Zimbabwe, are in safe hands. It is in this spirit, therefore, that the Agenda of today’s (yesterday’s) meeting will be deliberated, fully aware of a rapidly transforming national socio-economic and political landscape,” the President said.
He said yesterday’s session marked the half-year mark where the 11 Chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee would present their reports.
“I commend all members for your inputs into the respective Standing Committees. This approach will go a long way towards strengthening innovative policy generation, as well as the methodical monitoring and oversight role by the Central Committee and the Party as a whole.
“Where we have succeeded, let us celebrate and purposefully replicate for the collective good of our people. Where we have faced challenges, let us honestly introspect and make timely and appropriate interventions.”
Turning to Zimbabwe’s recent election to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, President Mnangagwa said Harare will push the voice of the Global South.
“We take pride that Zimbabwe has been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2027-2028 term. This signals the world’s growing confidence in the leadership of our Zanu-PF-led Government’s commitment to multilateralism, global peace, and security,” he said.
“As we take a seat at this prestigious international forum, we shall carry the voice of the Global South, advocating a fairer and more inclusive international system, where the sovereignty of all nations, multilateralism and the rules-based order are respected”.
The Central Committee also took time to celebrate Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga’s birthday.
He turned 70 yesterday.
