Online Reporter
AS we draw closer to the year’s premier event, which is the 22nd National People’s Conference, it is time to reflect once more on what makes Zanu-PF the party it is.
Delegates are preparing for the pilgrimage to Manicaland to deliberate on key issues and draw up resolutions to be forwarded to Government for implementation.
This very act demonstrates Zanu-PF’s supremacy and dominance.
This conference, like many others before, offers the opportunity to showcase Zanu-PF’s dominance as well as its ability to co-ordinate and run well-structured events.
The conference is by far the most sought after event in the country.
My office is inundated by numerous requests from individuals, corporates and many other organisations seeking to come and be part of this momentous occasion.
Everyone knows that wherever Zanu-PF is, that is where they should be.
So many of our people often seek to be close to the people.
In fact, over the years, the National People’s Conferences or Congresses have graduated to being more than just Zanu-PF events. They have become national events that are closely followed by our people everywhere.
Vision 2030, empowerment and its centrality to this year’s conference
This year’s conference will run under the theme, “Attainment of Vision 2030 through economic empowerment and value addition”.
This theme demonstrates Zanu-PF’s intention of meeting the goals of Vision 2030 as conceived by President Mnangagwa. It further spells out the methodology to be applied in the pursuit of that upper-middle income economy, which is through the economic empowerment of our people while adding value to the fruits of their labour.
It cannot be denied that on the production front, Zimbabwe has made significant strides and we have once again become one of the most diversified economies on the continent.
We now therefore must rake it further through the value addition of our agricultural and mining products.
We are the only wheat sufficient country in the region and are poised for achieving our target of a US$12 billion mining industry.
There is no doubt that with such a focus, we will take this nation towards the economic prosperity which we desire. Our target is not only economic prosperity, but the empowerment of our people as well. This is an ideological inclination that we will pursue till the end of times.
Zanu-PF’s focus around grassroots needs
Zanu-PF is a party conceived around the needs of the people. In fact, this is the purpose for which this colossal movement was created for.
Zanu-PF is a tool for meeting the needs of the grassroots. At every turn since its inception, our party has always strived to ensure that it pursues developmental initiatives that are responsive to the needs of the people.
That is why our Congresses and Conferences have the people in mind, even their names as they appear in the Party’s constitution clearly designate them as the National People’s Congress and the National People’s Conference.
This is a clear message to show that during these most important events, it is the people’s agenda being pursued.
Party’s resolutions
The resolutions drawn up at either the National People’s Congress or the National People’s Conference, as will be the case this year are of the utmost importance.
They play a critical role in ensuring that the Party’s desires as per the people’s expectations are correctly communicated to Government. Each year, we give our Government, as the implementing arm of the party a set of resolutions, drawn up from the grassroots.
Zanu-PF is a mass party driven by grassroots membership, and we have always endeavoured at every turn to not depart from that inclination. This year will not be any different.
We have already instructed the various party provinces to start consulting the masses and compile the lists of resolutions to be presented at this year’s conference.
It is important that this exercise is done meticulously so that all the wishes of our people are captured and Government responds to them.
The conference is also an opportunity for the Party to introspect and craft its path for the coming years.
This means that there will be a set of resolutions relevant to the Party as well as those relevant to Government.
Monitoring of progress
The conference is not only about coming up with resolutions and having them presented at the end of the festivities. It also offers the opportunity for the Government ministries to report back to the conference on progress that would have been made with regards to implementing the previous year’s resolutions.
This is a crucial step that ensures that the Government is accountable to the Party and the people that elected it into office.
The reporting back to the conference is one of the crucial steps that is vital for keeping track of the Government’s activities.
This is one of the acts that brings out the Party’s supremacy. However, this supremacy should not be misunderstood as it comes in the form of the Party giving policy direction to Government and this policy direction is an aggregation of the inputs from all our people at the grassroots level.
Such a bottom up approach to policymaking is what has sustained Zanu-PF’s popularity among its supporters as it guarantees that their wishes, inputs and needs always find their way to those given the responsibility to implement policies.
Closing ceremony and a new sense of direction
At the closing of the National People’s Conference, a new set of resolutions would have been drummed up and the Government as the implementing arm of the ruling Party will have its policy direction. There will be more work to be done after the conference in pursuit of the people’s agenda.
The Conference is therefore not an end but the beginning of another cycle in the journey towards meeting our aspirations.
n Dr Obert Moses Mpofu is an academic and the Secretary-General of Zanu-PF. He writes in his own capacity.
Bongani Ndlovu