Online Reporter
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
THE forthcoming Zanu PF 23rd Annual National People’s Conference, the ruling party’s supreme policy-making body outside Congress, is expected to shape Zimbabwe’s political and socio-economic development agenda as delegates review the implementation of previous resolutions and chart the way forward towards Vision 2030.
This year’s conference, to be hosted in Chinhoyi by Mashonaland West Province, will bring together thousands of delegates from across the country to assess progress made under the Second Republic, evaluate Government programmes and adopt resolutions that will guide both the party and Government.
Zanu PF National Chairperson Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, who recently toured conference preparations in Chinhoyi, expressed satisfaction with the province’s level of preparedness, saying the leadership had demonstrated commitment to hosting a successful conference befitting the significance of the annual gathering.
She also toured various projects in the provincial capital, including a residential area where some of the delegates will be accommodated.
“I am excited that Mashonaland West’s leadership is taking this conference seriously. It is a very important conference for Zanu PF,” she said.
Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri said the conference would build on resolutions adopted at previous conferences, particularly Resolution Number One, which she said reflected delegates’ appreciation of the developmental milestones achieved under President Mnangagwa since the advent of the Second Republic.
She described the National People’s Conference as one of Zanu PF’s most important constitutional gatherings, providing a platform for delegates to review policy implementation and evaluate national development programmes.
The conference will also adopt resolutions that guide both the party and Government in advancing the country’s development agenda.
Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri said Resolution Number One underscored delegates’ desire to see the full implementation of Vision 2030 through the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
“Those are issues that were recognised by the delegates, who appreciated the progress being made towards Vision 2030,” she said.
She said Zimbabwe was enjoying peace, political stability and sustained economic growth, adding that the prevailing environment had enabled the country to focus on development.
The Constitutional Amendment (No. 3) Act was assented to by President Mnangagwa earlier this month.
“Zimbabweans have chosen continuity because they are seeing the results of peace, stability and economic transformation. The mandate now is to consolidate those gains as we drive Vision 2030,” she said. Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri said Zimbabwe’s growing international stature was reflected in its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its impending assumption of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) chairmanship following the forthcoming summit.
She also cited the country’s value-addition and beneficiation drive, including the ban on the export of selected raw minerals, as evidence of Government’s commitment to industrialisation and economic transformation.
Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri added that Zimbabwe’s participation in the African Peer Review Mechanism demonstrated the country’s confidence in its governance systems and development trajectory.
Zanu PF Secretary for Legal Affairs Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi urged Zimbabweans not to be used by malcontents opposed to Constitutional Amendment Act (No. 3).
“We held public consultations on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, where people were free to support or oppose the Bill.
“Now that the legislative process has been concluded, we urge our people to desist from acts of violence that may destabilise the peace prevailing in the country,” said Cde Ziyambi, who is also the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairperson Cde Mary Mliswa-Chikoka said the province was fully prepared to host this year’s conference, with logistical arrangements progressing well and donations from stakeholders beginning to trickle in.
Several senior party officials attended the preparatory meeting, including Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Marian Chombo.
