The year 2022 was a busy one for ZANU PF, as the ruling party held its elective congress that saw the endorsement of President Mnangagwa as the Presidential candidate for next year’s harmonised elections. Our Correspondent WALLACE RUZVIDZO (WR) spoke to the ruling party’s Secretary for Administration Dr Obert Mpofu (OM) on a variety of issues.
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WR: What is your assessment of the year 2022 and overall preparations ahead of next year’s elections?
OM: ZANU PF has had quite a busy schedule, especially this year and a bit of last year, in that it was restructuring itself to prepare for major activities such as the coming elections. If you recall, we had conferences for the Women’s League, Youth League, War Veterans League and finally the congress, which was held recently, and this was a culmination of all those conferences that addressed and came up with a number of resolutions.
You will notice that the President, in fulfilling and attending to those resolutions, has been around the country with his team and he has taken it upon himself as a vibrant leader to ensure that projects are implemented and completed around the country, and the party has actually been gearing itself for elections next year. It has not been based on the likely outcome of the elections but on addressing people’s aspirations. In doing so, you will find out that most of the party programmes are adopted by Government to empower the generality of our people.
WR: What are some of the triumphs registered by the ruling party this year?
OM: We have addressed most of the people’s aspirations in terms of implementation but there are still some areas that need attention and these are areas that we are seized with and, as you may have noticed, we have challenges, especially in urban areas, most of which are administered by the opposition. They have failed to live up to the promises made to the people.
Our urban areas have become semi-rural areas. If you look at Bulawayo, for instance, there is a sad sight; it is dirty. Garbage remains uncollected. There are potholes. No wonder we have resolved that, perhaps, Government should take care of the administration of urban areas, which have become an embarrassment to our development.
WR: Usually, as we approach elections, there are detractors who go all out to besmirch your party and Government through allegations related to democracy and human rights abuses. How prepared is the party to counter these?
OM: ZANU PF is always ready for eventualities; we are a product of the revolution that has made us who we are in terms of our fight for emancipation. We have also faced quite formidable detractors in the form of the opposition and their backers. As you may be aware, right now, a lot of people know that ZANU PF is going to win the elections. Even those who support the opposition have been trying to engage us; we have had a lot of them coming to engage us because they know ZANU PF is going to win, and they are trying to come up with all sorts of demands, but we have not closed our doors on them.
At the same time, we are on the ground, talking to the people and selling our manifesto to them. People out there know what ZANU PF is capable of doing but there is a lot of distraction. We have people still calling for sanctions but we have been under sanctions for 20 years and it’s no longer a priority. Sanctions or no sanctions, this country has moved forward, and it will continue to move forward. Right now, our economic growth is certain, so we are on the right track.
WR: During the party’s elective congress, President Mnangagwa said the party would launch its 2023 election manifesto soon, what is the progress on that?
OM: I am working on it. It is my responsibility as the party’s Secretary for Administration and I can assure you that it is at an advanced stage. We are almost ready with the final draft before we present it to the President and the Politburo.
WR: When will the party hold its primary elections?
OM: That is a programme of the party which we are working on but the whole essence of holding primary elections is that, by the time we hold the 2023 general elections, we would have mended wounds that may have been caused. Primary elections by their nature tend to be a bit divisive because people will be contesting each other, but this time we are going to hold them earlier to give room for reconciliation.
WR: How has the party’s newest baby, the War Veterans League, been coping?
OM: It is the most vibrant wing in terms of the excitement that it has. To be recognised by the party as a wing, which, in the first place, was responsible for leading the war against the imperialists, has really caused a lot of excitement. War veterans are so elated by the development. The beauty about war veterans is that they are used to volunteering because they withstood the pressures under very difficult conditions; they perform tasks willingly and with a committed spirit.
They are happy that they have been exclusively recognised. The whole presidium and most of the Politburo members are war veterans, so we will never forget where we came from, where we are and where we are going. There is nothing better than ZANU PF, when it comes to the politics of this country.
WR: What would you say are some of the challenges that the party has faced and overcame in 2022?
OM: The challenges include trying to engage and re-engage those who have been hostile to us. So, we came up with a policy that is the President’s thrust. But we have told the world that we are any enemy to none and a friend to all, so, those who do not want to work with us, we will not force them to do so but we will work with those who want to work with us.
Most of the challenges are emanating from our own people who go out there and start saying all sorts of bad things about their own country. That is why there is an attempt to come up with a Patriotic Bill.
It is only in Zimbabwe where people try to demonise their own leadership and country in the manner they are doing, but you will never do that in the United States and the so-called developed world. – Sunday Mail
