The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka, Senior Reporter
ZANU-PF Bulawayo Province will hold a carnival and a clean-up campaign in the city as build-up activities to the province’s Presidential Youth Interface Rally whose date is yet to be announced.
In an interview, chairperson of the local organising committee, Cde Absalom Sikhosana said the two activities will be held two days before the Interface Rally.
He said the carnival was meant to raise awareness of the Interface Rally among Bulawayo residents as part of the province’s mobilisation strategy.
Cde Sikhosana said the province was targeting to mobilise more than 100 000 people to attend the meeting.
He said a number of cultural and musical activities have been lined up for the carnival.
“We want to raise awareness of the Interface meeting and as part of our mobilisation strategy we will hold a carnival a day or two before,” said Cde Sikhosana.
“Road shows will be held in the CBD and in residential areas where various activities shall be showcased, from music and dance. There will be cultural exhibitions as you know we have diverse cultures in the country,” he added.
On the clean-up campaign, Cde Sikhosana said the party has partnered various stakeholders among them the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) to successfully hold the event.
He said the clean-up campaign would be held in the city centre as well as identified litter hotspots in residential areas.
“We want to make sure that our home is clean as we welcome the President.
“We have partnered Ema and other stakeholders who will assist us in carrying out the clean-up campaign. Ema has given us 300 t-shirts and we are expecting more,” said Cde Sikhosana.
The party has already selected White City Stadium as the venue for the Presidential Youth Interface Rally.
Six sub-committees have been set up to organise the event.
These include Mobilising, Fundraising, Transport and Welfare, Information, Publicity and Entertainment, Security and Catering.
Cde Sikhosana said the province has covered enough ground in terms of preparations and was now ready to host the Interface Rally.
“We are only waiting for the date. Everything is set. It’s all systems go. We are ready to meet our icon,” he said.
Cde Sikhosana called upon Bulawayo residents to come in their thousands to attend the meeting.
He said the targeted huge turnout to the Interface Rally would help make a bold statement that the party was geared for the 2018 harmonised elections.
“We are targeting over 100 000 people. This should be the best Interface Rally. It should help the party make a strong statement that it means business come 2018.
“Zanu-PF is the only game in town and the Presidential Youth Interface Rally will show this to the world,” he said.
The Presidential Youth Interface Rallies have been a huge success with thousands attending in the provinces that have hosted so far.
President Mugabe has so far met youths in eight provinces and is left with two legs of meetings in Bulawayo and Harare metropolitan provinces.
Dates for the two meetings are yet to be announced. -@irielyan
