Blessing Chizhande
Richard Muponde, Zimpapers Politics Hub
ZANU-PF’s nationwide programme of provincial interdistrict meetings is doing more than keeping party structures active.
For a revolutionary party whose birth and sustenance have been marked by strict adherence to its founding ethos of being people-centred, the interdistrict meetings form part of grassroots consultations ahead of the 23rd National People’s Conference, scheduled for October 12 to 17 at the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) in Mashonaland West Province.
The meetings are creating a bottom-up pipeline through which grassroots concerns are discussed, resolutions consolidated and organisational weaknesses addressed before the national gathering.
The conference theme, “From Resolutions to Results: Consolidating Economic Development and Deepening Economic Empowerment Towards Vision 2030,” gives the exercise a distinctly implementation-driven character.
From grassroots structures to national resolutions
During the consultations, members are rigorously verifying party membership to reduce inactive structures, while stronger cells give the party a clearer picture of local grievances, aspirations and development priorities. Mobilisation is therefore not simply about numbers; it is about maintaining an organised presence capable of translating conference decisions into sustained community engagement.
Since the advent of the Second Republic, Zanu-PF has introduced several changes to the way it conducts its annual conferences. The President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF, Cde Emmerson
Mnangagwa, has infused a stronger business-oriented approach and encouraged robust discussions on economic development issues. The reduction in the number of delegates attending the conference is intended to foster deeper and more critical policy debates, while also promoting leaner operational models inspired by international allies such as China.
The conference also provides an important moment for accountability, with previous resolutions being assessed against implementation. Ministries, local authorities and party structures use the platform to identify what has been completed, what remains outstanding and the reasons behind any delays. In this way, resolutions are less likely to become ceremonial declarations and more likely to serve as instruments for monitoring development progress.
The immediate organisational purpose is therefore significant. Zanu-PF is reviewing cell structures, verifying membership and strengthening mobilisation at the point where the party directly interfaces with citizens. In a mass political organisation, national conferences cannot be sustained by central directives alone. Their resolutions acquire political weight when they emerge from structures capable of identifying local concerns and transmitting them upwards.
Constitutional alignment and the 2030 question
One of the most consequential issues expected to reach Chinhoyi is the alignment of the party constitution with Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3 (CAA3). The amendment altered the national electoral architecture to a seven-year cycle, creating an organisational question for a party whose Green Book has historically operated around a five-year Congress cycle.
Resolutions emerging from the provinces have called for alignment of the party constitution with the amended national Constitution, as well as the continuation of President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s leadership until 2030. The provinces have publicly adopted the position that there should be no internal party elections before 2030 and that the Green Book should be aligned with the seven-year constitutional cycle. This does not, in itself, amend the party constitution; rather, it generates proposals that must pass through the prescribed party processes.
Economic stabilisation becomes a deliverables test
The conference theme places economic development and empowerment at the centre of proceedings, meaning delegates will inevitably assess whether policies implemented since 2017 have produced measurable outcomes.
The Second Republic inherited a fragile economy characterised by production constraints, infrastructure deficits and macroeconomic instability. Since then, Government has pursued the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, NDS1 and NDS2 within the broader Vision 2030 framework.
Hwange Units 7 and 8 added 700 megawatts to the national grid, while major road, dam, airport, border-post and water projects have expanded the country’s infrastructure base.
The upgraded Beitbridge Border Post has modernised a strategic trade gateway, while other flagship projects include the Trabablas Interchange, the New Parliament Building and the expansion of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
In agriculture, the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme, together with irrigation expansion initiatives, has supported food security efforts, while wheat production has increased significantly. Mining has attracted investment into gold, lithium, iron and steel, alongside an increasingly assertive value-addition and beneficiation agenda.
The economic record, however, should not be presented as finished business. The World Bank says Zimbabwe’s GDP grew by 7,5 percent in 2025 after growth of 1,7 percent in 2024, while price and exchange-rate stability improved. Yet it also warns that fiscal and debt risks remain elevated. Chinhoyi must therefore transform these gains into a more demanding implementation agenda centred on productivity, industrialisation, exports, employment creation and stable purchasing power.
Local development and devolution
Local development is another key agenda item because Vision 2030 cannot be achieved from Harare alone. Devolution, decentralisation and community-level empowerment are intended to bring development closer to citizens. Since 2017, Government has implemented thousands of infrastructure and community projects involving roads, schools, clinics, dams, irrigation schemes, electricity and public facilities.
These projects give practical expression to the philosophy “Nyika Inovakwa neVene Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo,” with no one and no place left behind as the country marches towards Vision 2030 and the attainment of an upper-middle-income economy driven by successive National Development Strategies.
Leadership, continuity and political direction
The conference will also serve as a platform for reaffirming party leadership and ideological direction. President Mnangagwa has repeatedly stressed the importance of discipline, unity, implementation and loyalty to the revolutionary heritage.
At the Central Committee, he called for party ideology, policies, programmes and discipline to guide the organisation. His message provides the broader political framework within which the interdistrict consultations are unfolding.
Politburo Secretary for Legal Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi has previously emphasised the grassroots nature of resolutions, saying they originate with ordinary members before being discussed at district and provincial levels.
In Mashonaland West, he has also commended the province’s strong participation in consultations on Constitutional Amendment Number 3.
Chinhoyi: history meets the future
The choice of Chinhoyi carries considerable symbolic weight. The city is associated with the Chinhoyi Battle, a defining episode of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, giving the conference a setting where revolutionary history intersects with contemporary development politics.
National Chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, through Treasurer-General Patrick Chinamasa, has said preparations were progressing according to plan. Cde Chinamasa has described Chinhoyi as an “altar for revolution” and urged party structures to translate resolutions into tangible outcomes.
That formulation captures the central challenge. A revolutionary party cannot rely on historical credentials alone; it must continuously demonstrate its relevance through development, empowerment and organisational discipline.
The machinery is being tested before the indaba
The nationwide interdistrict meetings are therefore best understood as Zanu-PF’s pre-conference political engine room. They are verifying membership, rebuilding cells, mobilising supporters, consolidating constitutional positions and reviewing development priorities.
By the time delegates gather at CUT in October, the intention is that the major questions confronting the party will already have passed through its grassroots pipeline.
Chinhoyi must consequently become more than another annual conference.
It should be the point at which resolutions are refined into measurable commitments, achievements since 2017 are consolidated, shortcomings are confronted and the Vision 2030 project is given renewed political momentum.
If the machinery being assembled across the provinces delivers that outcome, the 23rd National People’s Conference will demonstrate that Zanu-PF is not merely preparing for an indaba; it is preparing its structures, policies and political programme for the next phase of the Second Republic.
Online Reporter