Cowdray Park's scandalous boundaries favour Zanu-PF

Zanu-PF is likely to unfairly win the Cowdray Park parliamentary seat in Bulawayo province due to the opaque geographical nature of the constituency mapped by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) in its latest delimitation exercise, as well as heavy pouring of resources into the campaign of its candidate and Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, which is tantamount to vote buying.

There are three vast wards (6, 15 and 28) in the constituency whose boundaries are not clearly specified and only stated as "unnamed" roads which could mean they go deep into the peri-urban areas of the constituency that resemble Harare South in the capital metropolitan province.

For instance, in the description of ward 6, Zec in its delimitation report said it is an area of land "bounded by a line drawn from the junction of two unnamed roads at Stand 18164 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then southwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 17391 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then generally south-eastwards along the unnamed road to its intersection with an unnamed 40 metre road at Stand 6975 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then eastwards along the unnamed 40m road to its intersection with an unnamed stream, then generally northwards along the unnamed stream to a point where an imaginary line is drawn eastwards from at Stand 15524 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, to its intersection with an unnamed stream at Stand 15565 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then generally south-eastwards along the stream into its intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 15227 Cowdray Park Township so as to 9 include it, then southwards along the unnamed road to intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 14628 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, "then generally eastwards along an unnamed road to its intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 14637 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then generally south-eastwards along the unnamed road to its intersection with Cowdray Park Corridor, then generally southwards along Cowdray Park Corridor to its junction with Percy Ibbotson Road at Stand 6 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it,"then southwards along Percy Ibbotson Road to its intersection with Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Railway Line, then generally north-westwards along Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Railway Line to junction with an unnamed road at Stand 18865 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then north-eastwards along the unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 18164 Cowdray Park Township, the starting point.

"The area is bounded by the following Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM Zone 35s) coordinates based on modified Clarke 1880 Spheroid Coordinates: 653657.72, 7780252.71; 655179.00, 7780702.58; 656200.14, 7779280.13; 656524.01, 7779372.35; 656379.16, 7779709.24; 656794.38, 7779821.66; 656859.20, 7779698.39; 656967.89, 7779731.49; 657418.85, 7779732.20; 657447.63, 7779623.66; 659086.09, 7777147.71; 658011.72, 7777105.10; 655207.37, 7778925.88."

In another vague description of Cowdray Park's ward 15, Zex in its delimitation report says it is: "an area of land bounded by a line drawn from the intersection of Norwood Tracks and unnamed road at Stand 11038 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it and exclude Norwood Tracks, then south-eastwards along Norwood Tracks to a point where an imaginary line is drawn westward at Richmond Land Fill Site (Ngozi Mine) so as to exclude it, into an unnamed road at Stand 1325 Cowdray Park Township (Cowdray Park Secondary School) so as to include it, to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1307 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, ". . . then northwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1490 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then westwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1509 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then southwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1681 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then westwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1680 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, ". . . then northwards along an un named road to its intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 2061 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then westwards along an unnamed road to its intersection with Cowdray Park Corridor, then northwards along Cowdray Park Corridor to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 14709 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then westwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 14637 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then westwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 15220 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then generally northwards along an unnamed road to its intersection with a unnamed stream, then north-westwards along an unnamed stream to a point where an imaginary line is drawn westwards from Stand 15563 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, "to its intersection with an unnamed stream at Stand 15524 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then generally southwards along an unnamed stream to its intersection with an unnamed road, then westwards along an unnamed road to its intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 16388 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then generally north-westwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1739 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then northwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 18164 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then north-eastwards along an unnamed road to its intersection with Norwood Tracks, the starting point." The area is bounded by the following Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM Zone 35s) coordinates based on modified Clarke 1880 Spheroid Coordi nates : 19658352.11, 7781676.85; 655179.00, 7780702.58; 660201.17, 7778815.18; 658958.54, 7778930.50; 658983.46, 7779200.68; 658803.52, 7779217.16; 658778.28, 7778943.04; 658705.17, 7778950.81; 658720.38, 7779720.61; 657447.63, 7779623.69; 657418.85, 7779732.20; 656967.89, 7779731.49; 656859.20, 7779698.39; 656794.38, 7779821.66; 656379.16, 7779709.24; 656524.01, 7779372.35; 656200.14, 7779280.13; 655179.00, 7780702.58. Cowdray Park's ward 28 is also described in a similar indefinite manner which opens chances for rigging.

The Zec delimitation report says ward 28 is: "an area of land bounded by a line drawn from the intersection of Cowdray Park Corridor and an unnamed road at Stand 4325 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then eastwards along the unnamed road to its intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 2061 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then southwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1680 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then eastwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1681 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then northwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1510 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, then eastwards along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1542 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, "then southwards 33 along an unnamed road to its junction with an unnamed road at Stand 1307 Cowdray Park Township so as to exclude it, then eastwards along an unnamed road into an imaginary line at Stand 925 Cowdray Park Township so as to include it, to its intersection with Richmond and Norwood Tracks boundaries so as to exclude them, then southwards along the boundary of Richmond to its intersection with the proposed 40m road, then north-eastwards along the proposed 40m road to its junction with Siye-Pambili Drive, "then generally southwards along Siye-Pambili Drive to its intersection with Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Railway line, then north-westwards along Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Railway line to its intersection with Percy Ibbotson Road, then northwards along Percy Ibbotson Road to its junction with Cowdray Park Corridor, "then generally north-westwards along Cowdray Park Corridor to its intersection with an unnamed road at Stand 4325 Cowdray Park Township, the starting point."

The area is bounded by the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM Zone 35s) based on modified Clarke 1880 Spheroid Coordinates: 657447.63, 7779623.69; 658720.38, 7779720.61; 658705.17, 7778950.81; 658778.28, 7778943.04; 658803.52, 7779217.16; 658983.46, 7779200.68; 658958.54, 7778930.50; 660201.17, 7778815.18; 660285.85, 7778516.23; 660951.73, 7778959.76; 660143.66, 7776392.91; 659086.09, 7777147.71; 659104.12, 7777537.63. The chaotic geographical nature of Cowdray Park is one issue; the massive bankrolling of Ncube's campaign is another.

 He is drilling boreholes and mantaining roads in what translates to vote buying and Zanu-PF will be hoping to leverage on that aspect in order to harvest votes.