Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE ruling Zanu-PF’s confidence of victory in the elections slated for 23 August is built on the various achieved development projects and deliverables against a coterie of imagination, chaos and disorderly campaigns by opposition parties.
An elections engagement meeting organised by Tell Zim News at the Bulawayo Press Club yesterday exposed opposition parties’ lack of depth and connection with the grassroots, something Zanu-PF representative and candidate for Mpopoma-Mzilikazi Cde Admire Masikati said the ruling party was capitalising on. The engagement was meant to provide a platform for the candidates to present their manifestos and interact with the electorate through media.
Four candidates came through and interacted with the members of the media where apart from Cde Masikati was CCC aspiring candidate for Cowdray Park Mr Pashor Sibanda, Independent aspiring candidate for Mpopoma-Mzilikazi Mr Strike Mkandla and Mr Saviour Kasukuwere representative Mr Khulani Ndlovu.
Without a manifesto yet CCC candidate Mr Sibanda said they were going to launch one today with the objective of delivering a Zimbabwe that would benefit everyone while Khulani Ndlovu was there to add fun and drama purporting to represent Mr Kasukuwere who was fighting legal battles to legitimize his presidential candidate.
Mr Mkandla took the opportunity to wash his former party ZAPU’s dirty linen in public saying its current president did not deserve the position something that forced him to consider going independent.
“We have not yet launched our manifesto as a party. However, you might note that we are unpacking something called ‘for everyone’ which is going to inform our manifesto which we are launching on Sunday (today). As it is, Zimbabwe is not benefitting everyone,” said Mr Sibanda.
Cde Masikati articulated how his party was poised for victory, saying its development agenda had been people centred and was being initiated at grassroots level.
“The Zanu-PF manifesto is hinged on key deliverables. It was launched at national level and we are cascading it down to the grassroots. We have a clear theme that seeks to achieve an upper middle-income economy by 2030, leaving no one and no place behind. As a party, we are looking at ensuring production and productivity through taking resources down to the people. We are also looking at development centered policies driven by servant leadership,” said Cde Masikati.
He took a swipe on opposition’s failure to deliver key essential services in the urban areas that they have won in the past two decades.
“The opposition has been running council since 2000 and nothing good has come out of it. As we are speaking people in urban areas are suffering from lack of basic resources like water. However, the opposition is telling us about their unfound “for everyone” mantra.
“As Zanu PF, we want to correct the anomalies which have been made the norm by the opposition. Our people now celebrate the coming of water as if it’s a privilege yet it is a basic right,” said Cde Masikati.
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