Zanu-PF must win, silence opposition, says Chombo

ZANU-PF must win the 2018 elections in an emphatic manner to silence opposition parties and continue serving its people, party secretary for administration Dr Ignatius Chombo has said.

Addressing a Matabeleland North provincial workshop on Thursday, Dr Chombo urged the structure to accelerate its mobilisation drive.

Dr Chombo said while it was a positive development that Matabeleland North got eight out of 13 constituencies in 2013, the province needed to strategise around winning back the remainder in 2018.

“We need to encourage our members to register to vote, 2018 is coming and we need to win in a big way to send a clear message that we are the party of choice.

“The opposition is crying about uneven ground but we say the ground is even and all we need to do is to win to an extent that they see that we are not at their level,” he said.

Dr Chombo hailed Matabeleland North for constructing provincial offices, a move which he said would boost the party’s asset base.

“I have always said that we need to grow the party not only in terms of numbers but also in asset base. I’m happy that you are building an office which is good, the Midlands is also doing a great job. The bigger our asset value grows, the more formidable we become as a party,” he said.

“As a revolutionary party, it is in our interest to have ambitious plans.”

However, Dr Chombo chided Matabeleland North for failing to contribute towards the holding of the Zanu PF conference in Masvingo last year.

He said while the province raised $260 000 for the 2015 conference held in Victoria Falls, they failed to raise money for the Masvingo conference.

He said the behaviour would create a negative attitude in the party.

“You give other provinces a negative spirit that you only look at your own interests and only work when you are the ones hosting but your turn will come, what if the other provinces do the same thing to you?

“We sit in the Politburo with (Dr Obert) Mpofu who comes from this province and he is very ashamed of this thing, you must not put leaders to shame.”

Dr Chombo’s deputy, Cde July Moyo urged the province to mobilise more members as the delimitation in 2023 will be determined by the number of voters per area.