Zanu-PF's DCC elections to be held at once'

ZANU-PF will hold all outstanding District Coordinating Committee (DCC) elections at once as it moves to consolidate its structures, the party's national political commissar Victor Matemadanda has said.

The DCC elections will all be held before the party's 19th Annual National People Conference to be hosted by Mashonaland Central in December.

Harare and Bulawayo have already completed the restructuring of DCCs, while the party's eight other provinces remain outstanding. Matemadanda told The Sunday Mail that although dates for the DCC elections were yet to be finalised, the party had decided to hold the elections at one go.

"We have eight provinces left and they will all be done at once but we do not have the dates as yet. We will announce them in due course," he said.

Last week the party closed the deadline for the submission of CVs for cadres intending to take part in the elections.

Ahead of the DCC elections there has been intense jostling for posts, with some aspirants accused of vote buying and other undemocratic behaviour.

Matemadanda warned party members against engaging in any malpractices ahead of the elections, saying "the Politburo would not hesitate to institute disciplinary action".

The ZANUPF national commissar said DCCs are expected to be the party's trump card in wooing more voters ahead of the 2023 elections.

"The DCCs are going to play a major role in our drive to get five million members by 2023 so that we assert our dominance on the political playing field in Zimbabwe. This is why we want to do things correctly so that our party remains strong," he said.

At the party's last Politburo meeting, ZANUPF First Secretary President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that reintroduction of the DCCs should serve as a mechanism to consolidate party structures at grassroots level.

DCC structures were disbanded in 2012 after the previous party leadership felt that the structures were being used to fuel divisions in the party.

However, the New Dispensation led by President Mnangagwa has said the DCCs will reinvigorate the party and accomplish the goals of its manifesto.

In Harare, Godwills Masimirembwa was elected as the DCC chairman for Zone 4, while other zonal chairpersons are Godwin Gomwe (Zone 2), Ephraim Fundukwa (Zone 6), Kudakwashe Damson (Zone 5), Mafuratidze Goodwell (Zone 1) and George Chimhini (Zone 3).

In Bulawayo, Raymond Mtomba is the DCC chair for (Zone 1) while the chairman for Zone 2 is Paul Mutara and for Zone 3 Maidei Mpala was elected.

Obert Msindo is the chairman for Zone 4 while Zone 5 is chaired by Zowa Msika with Freedom Mahachi being the youth chairman for the province.