Zanu-PF frets over CCC rural penetration

Zanu-PF provincial leadership is sweating over Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC)'s rural mobilisation strategy which has seen the opposition party penetrate the rural areas which have been Zanu-PF strongholds and no go areas for opposition parties.

Speaking during a Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting held at Masvingo Show Grounds on May 13 2022, Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairperson Robson Mavhenyengwa said CCC was penetrating into rural areas and there was need to mobilize and employ new strategies to counter CCC moves.

"We have an issue of CCC which has come in rural areas, it has now left urban concentration and is in rural areas. No district is spared, they are everywhere in all districts. Even in urban areas they are doing door to door, so now that CCC is now conducting its programmes, we cannot sit back, we need to do our own," said Mavhenyengwa.

He also spoke on voter registration saying they need to mobilise people to register to vote as Masvingo province, to get the targeted 800 000 votes in 2023 to contribute to the national figure.

"We need to mobilise people to register to vote, and if we are not careful we will have more constituencies in urban areas than in rural on delimitation because in town, people are being mobilised. As a province, we have our own target of 800 000 votes.

"Of that number, each district will have its own target going down until we get to ward level. We have a number of youths who are new voters, there are college and university students in all areas and there are a number of new voters whom we should recruit," said Mavhenyengwa.

He told district party leaders to assist in transporting those in need of National Identity documents and said if they encounter any challenge, they should notify provincial leadership so that they engage the Registrar's office.

"Gutu is a district that is leading by example, they are carrying people to where the registrar office teams are issuing national IDs and we need to follow what they are doing. If you encounter any challenge, you need to tell us so that we talk to them," he said.

Mavhenyengwa, whose ascension to the Zanu-PF provincial leadership was marred with factionalism and cracks within the ruling party told the PCC that time for factionalism was gone as they now have to work hard to unite the party.

The former police boss is aligned to the Chiwenga faction allegedly fronted by him while the Mnangagwa faction fronted by his predecessor and Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira.

"The time we are in right now is not the time for us to pick up fights, we need to be campaigning for the party not the time to fight each other for seats, the time for that will come so let's be united as we all have one aim and one goal, let's support those in positions for now and when the right time to contest for seats comes, everyone will be allowed do to so," added Mavhenyengwa.

Speaking at the same event, newly elected deputy national secretary for youth affairs and provincial youth chairperson John Paradza thanked the province for rallying behind him during the recently held youth leadership elections.

"Masvingo is known for unity, we can only fight if we are in power, so we should make sure that we win in 2023 before we fight each other," said Paradza.