The ManicaPost
Lovemore Kadzura Rusape Correspondent
ZANU-PF’s preparedness to part ways with some candidates that served under the ousted regime of Mr Robert Mugabe and take on board new dynamic and progressive players that communities look to for a fresh start will significantly improve its chances at the 2018 polls.
The move resonates with the new dispensation’s thrust to improve the party and country’s battered image, revamp the economy and open Zimbabwe for business.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has insisted on a direct relationship between the health of politics and the economy, saying the answer to the country’s teething problems lies with the new dispensation displacing the old order that had become an albatross around people’s necks.
Zanu-PF has also come out strongly condemning the imposition of candidates on the electorate further bolstering its internal principles of democracy and respect people’s free will.
Party supporters have said President Mnangagwa is the ideal candidate to restore the party’s tattered past while disposing of characters that suffocate the party’s chances of winning the 2018 polls.
The new dispensation has outlined what is good for the nation and the corresponding effort to produce players that deliver, meet and exceed communities’ expectations.
War veteran, Cde Never Chikara said President Mnangagwa’s resolve to change old ways was greatly appreciated.
“He has done well to realise that the party’s and his credibility and integrity will be similarly appreciated if he also changes tired and hopeless horses. This will also significantly improve his chances at the polls considering the efforts he is making to improve the country’s image and devoting his energies towards revamping the economy, which deserves to be fairly rewarded at the polls,” said Cde Chikara.
Cde Chikara said this during the launch of the Nyazura-Chivhu road resealing programme being sponsored by Makoni South aspiring candidate Cde Misheck Mataranyika.
Cde Mataranyika has partnered the Department of Roads and is assisting with all the required road resealing materials and stipends for hundreds of youths assisting in the programme.
Since announcing his grand entrance into Makoni South political fray, Cde Mataranyika has listened to the needs of the people and addressed them.
He is not looking back on President Mnangagwa’s vision to open the neglected Makoni South for development.
His politics of delivering has charmed and lured many back to Zanu-PF. The Nyazura–Chivhu highway has been neglected for years and had become infested with potholes, which posed a danger to the motoring public.
Rehabilitation of this road began on Monday with youths partnering the Department of Roads to patch and fill potholes.
Cde Mataranyika has poured thousands of dollars to rehabilitate the 50km stretch of the road.
Ecstatic Zanu-PF supporters hailed the new dispensation for attracting practical, sensitive and responsive candidates who can propel President Mnangagwa to victory and create a dynamic and progressive environment after the 2018 elections.
“President Mnangagwa is alive to the need to change ways of doing things in Zanu-PF. He knows that politics is determined by the type of boots the party has on the ground. He very quickly and cleverly created an environment that sought to break with the past and this is why you see progressive people, who during the Mugabe-era shunned politics due to its dirty nature, joining the rank and file of the party. This has opened Makoni South for development. We are really grateful to President’s new approach that fuses politics, business and development,” said Cde Paidamoyo Rukweza, of Denzva.
Cde Rukweza added: “It calls for political stamina and will power on the part of the President to instruct Zanu-PF to read the environment correctly and comply with its dictates, failure of which it would take more than a miracle to persuade people to live under the shadow of a hated Mugabe era. Yes, the old players wanted to manipulate the process using the same strategies of the past, but the party put a stop to that because winning a party ticket is totally different from winning a community ticket. It is President Mnangagwa’s new thrust that endeared him to the general populace, and, has indeed earned him the respect and support of candidates with grassroots support that see his efforts as a refreshing start for bigger things ahead of us”.
Cde Mataranyika said the road was strategic, as it connects the Beira Port and Bulawayo.
He said a good road network is a catalyst for development of the country, and the “Zimbabwe is open for business” thrust will be futile if attention is not given to roads.
“It is strategic nationally because all the trucks coming from Beira going to Midlands, Matabeleland and Zambia pass through this road. This route is equally important to the people of Makoni South, as it links with various strategic areas.
“A good road network is a must for a nation to attract foreign direct and local investment. The current state of this road will not help to attract any investment in the constituency. President ED Mnangagwa has made it clear that Zimbabwe is open for business, and the onus is on his foot soldiers to localise his message. It is now our responsibility to work tirelessly and propel his vision in constituencies. This is how his vision can succeed; we cannot talk of development with roads in bad shape.
“We have made available all what is needed to rehabilitate this road and the Department of Roads will provide equipment and skilled personnel to supervise the members of the community whom we have given jobs for the rehabilitation programme.
‘‘We also have a motorised grader that is attending to the gravel roads in the constituency. We want our farmers to have easy access to markets and make public transport abundant in the constituency,” said Cde Mataranyika.
