Civil servants to attend Zanu-PF's Herbert Chitepo School of ideology

Zanu-PF Bulawayo province has recommended that all civil servants should compulsorily attend the ruling party's Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology.

According to the province's resolutions which were read out during the party's inter-district meeting held at  Davies Hall Saturday, the province also recommended students who fail to attain five "O" level passes should be employed in government and be given an opportunity to enroll in tertiary institutions.

Bulawayo province also endorsed President Emmerson Mnangagwa as its 2023 presidential candidate.

"Among other resolutions, the province also called for all civil servants and youths to attend the Chitepo School of Ideology. The province also called for the inclusion of young people who do not have the adequate and requisite five Ordinary Level passes in various educational programmes," Raymond Mutomba, the party's administration secretary, said soon after the closed-door meeting.

During the meeting which was also attended by the party's Politburo member Engelbert Rugeje, the province further recommended any new party member should remain at cell level for five years before moving to the upper structures of the governing party.

Commenting on the party's resolution, the MDC Alliance Bulawayo provincial spokesperson, Swithern Chirowodza described the resolution as unconstitutional and an attempt to create a one-party state.

"This resolution is coming from dead minds speaking from a graveyard of fools. To start with, civil servants constitutionally are supposed to be apolitical. You cannot coerce civil servants to join a political party which is not of their choice. As MDC Alliance we will definitely resist this move if   Zanu-PF tries to implement it," Chirowodza said.

Zapu described Bulawayo province's resolution as "command support for Zanu-PF".

"Even at his worst (former President Robert) Mugabe never stoop so low like what this regime. Just like the doling out of state-of-the-art vehicles to principals of the discredited Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) this again is part of  Zanu-PF's grand plan to create a one-party state in the country," Zapu spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa said in an interview with NewZimbabwe.com.

"The rest of the region and the world has fully embraced multi-democracy but it is sad that Zanu-PF is taking us back to the 19th century. We cannot allow our children and civil servants to attend the so-called ideology where they will be taught violence, tribalism, and looting."