Mnangagwa says DCCs must unite Zanu-PF party

The recently elected ZANU-PF District Coordinating Committees (DCCs) structures and election thereof must unite the party and act as a spring board for entrenching the Party's revolutionary ideology, constitutionalism and strong grassroots mobilisation, says President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The President said this while giving opening remarks for the Ordinary Session of the Politburo today.

"I commend members of the Politburo, Election Supervisory Teams and the Electoral College who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the process. I equally applaud the majority of candidates who campaigned in a peaceful and disciplined manner.

"Let me reiterate that the DCC structures and the elections thereof must unite the Party's revolutionary ideology, constitutionalism and strong grassroots mobilisation," said President Mnangagwa.

President Mnangagwa discouraged party members from using the media to express grievances saying doing so will tarnish the image of the party. He urged members to follow proper party channels.

"Article 3 Section 20, subsection 2 enshrines the right of members to be elected to any office of the party, subject to rules and regulations determined by the Central Committee, while sub section 7, gives members the right to seek remedy in respect of any grievances as a result of the action of any person in authority over him. Following processes such as the past DCC elections, party cadres are well within their rights to make representations on matters of concern within the framework of our constitution.

"However in doing so, loyalty and discipline, as expressed through understanding and adherence of party constitution, ethics and guiding principles must always be at the core. I therefore want to dissuade our members from using both the mainline, media and social media to express their grievances. Doing so amounts to bringing the name of the party into disrepute," said the President.

On another note, President Mnangagwa said ZANU-PF and the Government took the honour of hosting the Museum of African Liberation and coordinating the efforts towards advancing the Pan-African goal, integration and unity of African states through the preservation of the nations' collective liberation history and cultural heritage. He called upon veterans of the struggle for independence in the country to take an active role as key stakeholders to the project.

The President advised the Politburo that his administration was formulating and implementing policies, which seek to ensure broad-based and inclusive empowerment for women and youth, which saw him launching the Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises Policy, which supports the inclusion of women in the mainstream economy and productive value chains.

Relatedly, the President said he had the privilege to address the first Annual Indaba of women councillors drawn from all provinces and across the political divide. At this forum, the President said that women councillors made a convincing plea for the increase of women in decision making positions in particular within councils.

"I am pleased that the Cabinet approved the principles for the amendment of the Constitution on proportional representation in local authorities providing 30 percent quota representation for women in all local authorities. This is a testimony that we are a strong democracy fostering unity of purpose towards matters of service delivery in local authorities and propelling our national development agenda."

The President applauded women and youths as the vanguard of the Party for their continued resolve and active participation in both Government and Party programmes urging them to keep the momentum as the country consolidates the gains of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and prepare for the successful implementation of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1).