Zanu-PF conference opens tomorrow

All roads lead to Victoria Falls today as delegates to the Zanu-PF 15th Annual National People's Conference arrive for the official opening of the important indaba tomorrow.

A few delegates were already here by yesterday for the conference.

President Mugabe, who is the revolutionary party's First Secretary, will officially open the conference which entered its third day with a Central Committee meeting in Harare yesterday.

The event will take place at the Elephant Hills Resort Golf Course.

At the venue yesterday, service providers were busy tying the loose ends, while companies that will exhibit at the business expo were also putting up their stands.

The business expo will run concurrently with the conference.

The sound system, lighting power, communication system and water supply tanks were also undergoing final checks.

Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Richard Moyo said the province was ready to host the big event.

He said a tree planting ceremony, where President Mugabe was expected to plant a tree, would be held tomorrow at the venue.

"We are prepared as a province to host the delegates and everything has been sorted out from food to accommodation," said Moyo.

"Tomorrow (today) is the travelling day and delegates will be coming from various provinces. Some started trickling in yesterday and we have also arranged transport for delegates to be carried to Victoria Falls."

Moyo added: "There are a lot of companies, including indigenous ones, which will be exhibiting at the conference and they have also erected their stands. At the moment I do not have the exact number of the companies exhibiting, but they will be showcasing their products from agricultural implements, industrial and other machinery."

The conference is being held under the theme: "Consolidating People's Power through Zim-Asset."

Moyo said no gatecrashers would be allowed at the venue as all people had to be accredited.

"The party has been frank on this one and if there is one planning to gatecrash then he or she will be disappointed," he said. "Only accredited delegates will be allowed in and no opportunists will be taken on board."

The conference has brought a business boom to private home owners in the resort town, with most of them converting their houses into temporary lodges to accommodate some of the delegates.

More than 5 000 delegates are expected to attend the conference and major hotels and lodges are fully booked, leaving private home owners to cash in on the demand.

Some of the house owners are charging between $25 and $35 per night per room.

Other delegates will be accommodated at the various schools dotted around Victoria Falls.

Demand for accommodation is usually high when there are big conferences in the resort town and residents cash in on the opportunity.

"We are fully booked this week and we are geared for brisk business," said one worker at Mopani Lodge.

"We will also provide dinner, breakfast and accommodation to the delegates."

Also recording brisk business are tour operators, taxi owners and restaurant and bar owners.

The Zanu-PF Politburo, which kick-started the conference on Monday, asserted that the indaba would be about finding strategies that will improve people's livelihoods and fulfil the promises the revolutionary party made to the electorate during the 2013 harmonised elections.

Zanu-PF secretary for Information and Publicity, Simon Khaya Moyo has emphasised that no politics would take centre stage at the conference as only President Mugabe had the right to appoint members into leadership positions.

All the provinces have come up with their resolutions to be presented to the conference, chief among them being the endorsement of President Mugabe as the leader of the party ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections.