Zanu-PF restructuring exercise underway

ZANU-PF commenced its restructuring exercise over the weekend across all provinces, marking the initial phase in building its lower structures and registering new members while taking stock of existing ones.

The audit and verification exercise started on Saturday, with Politburo-led teams dispatched to all 10 provinces. The process began with Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meetings held over the weekend.

Annually, the ruling party conducts a cell verification exercise to account for its membership, both old and new, in line with its constitutional requirements. The Commissariat Department deployed Politburo members to brief the PCC meetings on the restructuring programme.

This initiative comes as ZANU-PF's progressive policies and open-door approach have attracted many new members, including former MDC members and individuals who had never previously joined any political party.

The restructuring is led by the party leadership in various provinces to ensure proper structures at the grassroots level. ZANU-PF National Political Commissar, Munyaradzi Machacha, announced that following the PCC meetings, provinces should hold Inter-District meetings at all District Coordinating Committee (DCC) centres on June 8 and 9, 2024.

Each province will deploy PCC members to address these Inter-District meetings, conveying the framework for restructuring at the cell and village levels. These meetings will be followed by nationwide Inter-Branch meetings on June 15 and 16, 2024.

"The actual restructuring should then effectively begin on June 17, 2024, and end on July 17, 2024. The Inter-Branch meetings are crucial since Branch Executive Committees will ultimately carry out the restructuring of the cells and villages under their jurisdiction, with supervision from District DCC and Provincial leadership," stated Machacha.

He added that newly established cells and villages should conduct a self-verification exercise on the weekend of July 6 and 7, 2024, to authenticate their membership.

Phase two of the restructuring will involve officials from party headquarters and the provinces performing a final verification of membership in the cells and villages, completing the grassroots restructuring exercise.

This phase should integrate new members recruited through the Kumusha Home Ekhaya (KHE) Returnees Programme, which includes members who defected from opposition parties. Provinces are advised to collaborate with KHE Returnees Provincial and Admin District Coordinators, with lists provided by the Commissariat Department.

Following this, the recorded membership in the new cell and village registers will be computerized, marking ZANU-PF's embrace of technological advancements.

In Harare, the PCC was addressed by ZANU-PF Secretary for War Veterans League, Douglas Mahiya, who urged the provincial leadership to provide accurate figures of their structures to reflect the true state of the party.

"The restructuring of village/cell structures is about leadership renewal, as per our constitution, which requires us to build our cells every year and branches every two years. We are an experienced, organized political party and must engage with the people to understand their views and identify areas for improvement," said Mahiya.