The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
ZANU-PF Bulawayo Province yesterday took time to reflect on the 30 July harmonised elections with officials saying they could have done better if it was not for a few glitches that will be corrected in 2023.
Speaking at a post-election meeting in Makokoba, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Cde Judith Ncube, who is also a member of the party’s Central Committee said Zanu-PF needs to focus on the shortcomings and correct them so the party could perform better in the next elections. Zanu-PF won one parliamentary seat out of 12 in Bulawayo.
“This is the time to focus on our party and look at how we performed during the election period, there are the things that made us lose in some instances. We need to be a united force because we lost each other somewhere along the line and this did not work for us,” she said.
Cde Ncube said there were divisions within the party that made some members leave.
“Lack of unity translated to losses for us, people went to other political parties and you here can bear witness to that as some of our members were now polling agents for opposition parties,” she added.
Cde Ncube said there was a need to strengthen party structures as part of the rebuilding exercise. Party members also said they did not benefit from food aid in the province which forced some people to abandon the party.
“People were not getting food aid and they were enticed by other parties who had food handouts and even money, so we lost people, they ran to parties that were handing out food,” said one a member at the meeting.
On the issue of price increases, Cde Ncube said residents should resist machinations by some unscrupulous retailers who want to profiteer.
“I have put together a think-tank that is trying to find solutions to the hikes, we cannot have retailers selling cooking oil at $10 yet wholesalers are selling to them at $3.40. We must refuse that, reject it completely,” said Cde Ncube.
