Zim prepared for historic election today
Battles lines drawn for Harare and Bulawayo as parties pull out all stops
A battle for the control of Zimbabwe’s two main cities‚ Harare and Bulawayo‚ is brewing. The governing Zanu-PF is hoping that, for the first time in nearly two decades, it will wrest control of the two cities from the MDC‚ led by Nelson Chamisa‚ in next Monday’s election.
Harare is the country’s capital‚ and Bulawayo is secondlargest city in Zimbabwe.
Although most of the attention in the run-up to the election has been fixated on the presidential poll‚ the ruling party has not made it a secret that it has its eye on the two largest cities. The harmonised election next week will see voters elect candidates for president‚ parliament and local government at the same time.
The warning shots of the ruling party’s intentions were fired in June by vice-president Constantino Chiwenga, who made it clear that Zanu-PF wanted control of the cities.
“We have lined up developers to spruce up the cities since the MDC-T led councils have failed. Since 2000 the MDC-T has been controlling cities and towns but there has been no meaningful development on the ground.
“It is now time for development and this can only be done by Zanu-PF‚” Chiwenga said at a rally in Hopley and Epworth.
Zanu-PF is making use of the discontent by urban dwellers over poor service delivery proterms vided by MDC councillors‚ in order to score points with voters. It is a gamble that may pay dividends.
Mfundo Mlilo‚ the director at Combined Harare Residents’ Association‚ said most people in the capital were not happy with the quality of services.
“There is clearly resurgence in of people wanting to participate in the elections‚ but our analysis shows that most people have not been happy with the quality of service delivery‚” said Mlilo.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) figures show that there are close to one-million voters registered to vote today. In its push to gain entry into the urban centres‚ alliances are also an important factor – and ZanuPF took its charm offensive to vendors and taxi drivers on Thursday‚ just days before voting day.
Stern Zvorwadza‚ the leader of the National Vendors Union‚ gathered members of his association for a meeting with Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri‚ the environment and climate minister‚ who addressed them on behalf of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The president travelled to SA for the Brics Summit.
In his address‚ Zvorwadza urged Mnangagwa to form a commission of inquiry to investigate councilors in urban areas who he accused of being corrupt.
July Moyo‚ the local government minister also fired potshots at the MDC-run urban centres‚ while praising the current administration for its exercise in rehabilitating roads. – Businesslive
First prize for Zanu-PF will be taking Harare and Bulawayo from MDC