The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
WITH momentum gathering ahead of the country’s harmonised elections, Mapostori for ED yesterday launched its Bulawayo youth chapter, gathering young people from 100 Apostolic and Zion churches who pledged to court their peers in the city to vote for the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Mapostori for ED was founded last year, with various Apostolic sects converging to endorse President Mnangagwa as the man they want to lead Zimbabwe in this year’s plebiscite. ED stands for Economic Development.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Mapostori for ED deputy chairperson, Archbishop Tsungai Vushe said the youth wing of the organisation would be tasked with courting the country’s young people as polls draw nearer.
Vapositori for Economic Development VED led by National Chairman Madzibaba Mhozi conducted a meeting in Bulawayo.
“We want to teach our youth about their history. That is a major objective of this movement. As a country we have peace and unity so now we want to educate our peers about development, something that we would like to see happening in Zimbabwe. We believe that this message has to be taught to our youths while they are still young,” he said.
Archbishop Vushe said they wanted to eradicate political apathy among young people, as most of them were not registered voters.
“We have a lot of unregistered youths and as bishops of an organisation that houses most Apostolic and Zion churches, we believe it is our duty to educate the youth on the importance of voting for the revolutionary party. A lot of our youths might know our history but they don’t understand it, it exists only in the books for them. If we manage to make them understand what it truly means then you will see a lot more of them registering to vote,” he said.
Archbishop Ushe said President Mnangagwa’s economic vision dovetailed with the values that underpinned a lot of the country’s indigenous churches.
“Indigenous churches have always been institutions that are synonymous with an entrepreneurial spirit. People that worship in indigenous churches have always known that their hands are their greatest assets and that is something that we want to teach the country’s youths. The country is affected by sanctions but they can be ineffective if we work to our strengths as a country. That is why today Bulawayo is the first to gather our youth together as we fight for economic development,” he said.
Archbishop Vushe said voting for the ruling party was a way for Apostolic and Zion churches to safeguard their freedom of worship, as this was the party that had always fought on their side.
