adminthe people, a senior party official has said.
The party’s director in the commissariat department Retired Air Marshal Henry Muchena said senior party leaders should be abreast with challenges being faced by the people.
Addressing party leaders from Masvingo province during the provincial inter-district conference at the weekend, Rtd Air Marshal Muchena also called for unity in the province.
“What we are saying is that a person cannot be a leader if he or she does not have grassroots support, for one to be called a leader he or she must participate in the cell meetings, village meetings right up to the top because people are at the grassroots and you cannot be a leader if you do not know what is happening at the grassroots.”
He said the leaders should make sure that there are familiar with activities in the villages.
“Even the war of liberation was won because of grassroots support, so we can only win back our support as a party if we are leaders who have a regular connection with the grassroots,” he said.
Rtd Air Marshal Muchena said Masvingo was a party stronghold from independence. He blamed recent losses in elections on senior party members who had lost touch with the people.
“In 1980, when Zanu PF won the first free and fair elections 32 percent of the votes came from Masvingo province and during the 2008 elections Masvingo did not fare as expected,” he said.
He challenged the leaders to mobilise and get back the supporters who did not vote for the party in the March 2008 harmonised elections.
The director said the leaders should not use factionalism to justify the loss in 2008 saying it was non-existant. “There is nothing called factionalism which people should take advantage of and claim that Zanu-PF is losing support in Masvingo because of factionalism. Factionalism only exists to people who are not party supporters but those who support individuals.”
and such people are not Zanu-PF members,” he said.
Rtd Air Marshal Muchena warned against rumour-mongering which caused divisions within the party.
He said members should be guided by the party principles and ideologies to protect Zimbabwe’s legacy of being a truly independent and sovereign country.
Provincial chairman, Cde Matuke said his party was geared to reclaim all the seats lost to the MDC in the last elections.
He urged party supporters to shun violence and campaign peacefully by articulating policies and programmes that are responsive to the people’s needs.
The conference was attended by senior Zanu PF leaders in Masvingo among them Politburo members Cde Stan Mudenge, Josiah Hungwe and Masvingo Governor and Resident Minister Cde Titus Maluleke.
Online Reporter