'Zanu-PF seeks to reclaim all MDC Alliance seats'

Zanu-PF is planning to make inroads and reclaim all parliamentary and local council seats in the MDC Alliance-dominated Hwange district.

For years, Hwange and Binga districts in Matabeleland North province, have been MDC strongholds with the opposition commanding 100% national assembly seats and more than 95% of local authority seats.

The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance is in charge of 11 wards in the Victoria Falls city council while Zanu-PF has no ward in the Hwange Local Board and Binga Rural District Council (RDC).

The ruling party finds solace in Hwange Rural District Council where it has only two seats.

Councillor Givemeagain Moyo is the only MDC-T councillor in Hwange RDC while all legislators in the five seats shared by the two wards are with MDC Alliance.

However, the Zanu-PF leadership in the Hwange district believes it can turn the tables in the 2023 election and has started mobilising people to defect from the MDC and join the ruling party.

Close to 100 defectors, one of them a founding member of the MDC and former Hwange West MP, Peter Nyoni jumped ship to join Zanu-PF Saturday and were welcomed at a meeting at Chinotimba Hall in Victoria Falls.

The majority of defectors were youths drawn from the MDC Alliance and Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) who said they chose to cross the floor and join Zanu-PF because the ruling party was more focused than their former opposition parties.

The meeting was hosted by the Zanu-PF Hwange District Coordinating Committee (DCC).

Former MRP national executive member Nkosikhona Sibanda said his vision was to champion development and help preserve Zimbabwe's heritage.

"I believe in young people who engage in the development of the nation because the country's potential lies in us the youths. We have a mandate as young people is to protect the country's independence hence we have to work together without squabbles to defend what our heroes and heroines died for.

"I realised that to be able to do this I had to be politically correct by joining Zanu-PF," said Sibanda.

Former MDC Alliance member Mavis Ncube accused her former party of having lost the plot and vision.

"I realised the MDC Alliance has lost the intellect to do right hence I then decided to join Zanu-PF where every member has a vision. My wish is that we fight tooth and nail to get all seats that are currently under the purview of MDC Alliance," she said.

Former MP Nyoni said all his family members had resolved to join Zanu-PF.

"If my parents were from ZAPU, that means I am from the Zanu-PF pot. I have decided to come home on my own as I want to work towards building our country. I am very proud to be with you today because I have support from my family as you can see I brought my daughter who is also joining the party," he said.

Nyoni said Zanu-PF was the only party that had implemented pro-people programmes.

"It was the six of us who formed MDC here but the party is now dead. I lost trust in MDC when Morgan Tsvangirai passed on and I have found that there is no use in opposing a party that has direction like Zanu-PF.

"Now is the time to unite and move Zimbabwe to the next level. I have been following developments and been asking myself what it is that we are opposing," said Nyoni.

Zanu-PF Hwange DCC chair Matthew Muleya said the defections were a testimony for a well-prepared message from the ruling party on developing Zimbabwe.