Zanu-PF Bulawayo embarks on door-to-door campaigns

ZANU-PF Bulawayo province has embarked on door-to-door campaigns, pleading with residents to join the liberation party that has suffered heavy defeats in elections against opposition parties in the city.

The campaigns follows Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko's meeting with the Zanu-PF provincial executive at Davies Hall last month, where he bemoaned the party's poor performances in past elections in Bulawayo.

Mphoko called on the provincial executive to start building the party, recruiting new members beginning now ahead of the 2018 elections that he said should see the liberation movement bag some seats.

Party members have since then hit the ground running, embarking on door-to-door campaigns.

"They arrived at my house on Saturday and pleaded with me to join Zanu-PF," Bhekimpilo Nyoni from Cowdray Park said.

"They said they had been sent by Mphoko to ask all citizens in the city to join the party."

Zanu-PF activists are organising house meetings in various suburbs after spreading the word that Mphoko would be addressing the meetings, only for some to realise that they had been tricked into attending recruitment meetings.

"We were told that Mphoko was coming to meet residents at this house (Old Pumula suburb)," Morrison Nyathi from the suburb said.

"It seems, however, that this was a just a ruse for us to attend these house meetings where we are encouraged to join the party."

Southern Eye paid a visit at the Old Pumula house, but Mphoko did not pitch up, instead he was in Harare welcoming President Robert Mugabe from the African Union summit.

Residents of Emganwini high-density suburb last Sunday waited for hours for Mphoko, only for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs minister Eunice Sandi Moyo to turn up and urge residents to join Zanu-PF.

Residents of other suburbs like Magwegwe and Cowdray Park told Southern Eye of such house meetings, where they were  being told the VP was coming, only to realise that they had been tricked into attending a recruitment meeting.

Acting Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial chairperson Christopher Dube could not be reached for comment on how many new supporters the party wanted to recruit.

Last month, Zanu-PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere criticised the party's Bulawayo province for spending too much time on rumour mongering and personal fights resulting in the party performing badly in elections.

Zanu-PF has not won a single seat in Bulawayo in years.