Online Reporter
Joseph Madzimure, [email protected]
ZANU-PF has launched a data-cleaning exercise to strengthen efforts to verify its membership database as part of the ongoing digitalisation programme being implemented across all provinces.
The ruling party is rolling out its Cell Digitisation Programme to modernise its membership databases and enhance grassroots political coordination.
The party is moving away from paper cell registers to dynamic, computerised databases to ascertain precise membership numbers and track growth.
Speaking at the Harare Provincial Coordinating Committee meeting yesterday, Zanu-PF Secretary for Economic Affairs, Lieutenant-General (Retired) Engelbert Rugeje, said the digitalisation programme had made significant progress, but acknowledged challenges involving records that had failed to upload or pass system verification.
“The sole agenda of the meeting was to launch the data cleansing exercise ourselves,” he said.
Lt-Gen (Rtd) Rugeje identified incorrect National ID numbers, data capture errors and instances where the same member appeared in more than one cell as some of the factors contributing to verification failures and subsequent system rejection.
He stressed that such errors can occur during any large-scale data exercise and said the immediate task was to identify, verify and correct the discrepancies.
“The data cleaning exercise is therefore aimed at ensuring that the party’s membership records are accurate, properly verified and free from duplication and data capture errors, strengthening the integrity and reliability of the digital membership database,” Lt-Gen (Rtd) Rugeje said.
Speaking at the same meeting, Zanu-PF Harare provincial chairman Cde Godwills Masimirembwa confirmed that in Harare, close to 70 000 out of a total of more than 500 000 members have errors.
“We held an extraordinary Provincial Coordinating Committee meeting following a directive to do so by the National Political Commissar, Cde Munyaradzi Machacha.
“When we compiled our membership list, mistakes were made. A wrong ID is put against a person’s name or the person’s name is wrongly spelt. So we have some names in Harare, close to 70 000 out of our over 500 000 members, which have errors and as such they don’t match which means they cannot be captured into our computer database,” said Cde Masimirembwa.
He added: “So the purpose of this exercise is to go to each admin district, each constituency, each branch, each cell, to correct the information that was incorrectly captured .
“So teams are being put in place: our admin district coordinators and then the experts who will actually be doing the data capturing and the corrections,” said Cde Masimirembwa.
Dr Rugeje will be supervising the exercise in Harare.
“In each of our 30 constituencies, six experts are being deployed to do this exercise.
“Zanu-PF is so particular in the matters that affect the state of the party, and the critical state of the party is, of course, the membership,” added Cde Masimirembwa.
