Botswana electoral body to tap from ZEC’s expertise
ZANU PF Politburo members yesterday toured the Museum of African Liberation where they observed the giant efforts being made to record and conserve the stories of Africans and artefacts of the liberation struggle.
Among the Politburo members was Zanu PF Secretary General Dr Obert Mpofu, Council of Elders chairman Dr Sydney Sekeramayi and the party’s Secretary for War Veterans Cde Douglas Mahiya.
Speaking after touring the project, Dr Mpofu said this is a significant historical development for Zimbabwe since it will include the histories of the liberation war experienced by nations both inside and outside the region.
“I see there is a great will to see this completed on time but I think we are constrained by the resources, which is really a responsibility of us all,” he said.
Dr Mpofu said the site was commissioned by President Mnangagwa in 2021 and it should have taken shape by now, were it not for resource constraints.
“We will have to work together with those that are supposed to provide resources to make sure that the museum is completed according to the schedule,” he said.
Dr Mpofu said with Zimbabwe taking over the SADC chairmanship in August, it was important to ensure additional funds were raised for the construction of the museum.
Despite the challenges, he commended the work being done by Ambassador Kwame Muzawazi and Professor Simbi Mubako, who are leading the project.
Dr Mpofu said Zanu PF would be responsible for all that happened before, during and after independence to ensure “it is history about ourselves”.
The project will help in national discourse and documentation of events that occurred during the struggle, he added.
“I spoke with the CEO of INSTAK (Institute of African Knowledge Ambassador Muzawazi) earlier and he told me that this not only inspires us to build the site but also to write history books and discuss the events that transpired during the struggle,” he said.
Cde Mahiya said teaching people the correct history of the struggle through political consciousness, will help to unite the continent.
“I always refer to a book written by the former President Robert Mugabe when he said, I have written about the history of the liberation struggle but the actual history will be told by the people who participated in it, which is us.
A DELEGATION from Botswana’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is in Zimbabwe on a benchmarking mission as that country prepares to hold its general elections this year.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will assist their Botswana counterparts on the management of electoral activities as well as the conducting of polls.
Speaking at a media conference in Harare yesterday, ZEC’s chief elections office Mr Utoile Silaigwana said the two-member delegation’s visit was part of their preparatory work ahead of general elections scheduled for this year.
The delegation comprises Osupile Maroba, who is the chief public relations officer, and Malefho Gopolang, the policy development and voter education manager.
“A two-member delegation from the Independent Electoral Commission of the Republic of Botswana has visited the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on a benchmarking mission in preparation for the October 2024 Botswana General Elections.
“The benchmarking exercise will mainly focus on the management of electoral activities and the conduct of elections,” he said.
Mr Silaigwana said Botswana’s IEC would also learn how to hold publicity activities as well as go about rebranding initiatives during their stay here. The visit also served as an endorsement of Zimbabwe’s free, fair, credible and transparent harmonised elections held last year.
“ZEC will also illustrate publicity activities such as its radio programmes, use of social media platforms and the website as well as rebranding initiatives to the visitors. “Despite aspersions cast by some election observers on Zimbabwe’s elections, the visits are an endorsement of professionalism characteristic of ZEC’s electoral management, especially in the conduct of credible elections,” he said.
Mr Silaigwana said the Botswana IEC was not the first to come on a benchmarking expedition to Zimbabwe, as election managers in other countries including Lesotho and Namibia had made such visits before. “The visit is one among others made in the past by several regional electoral management bodies and in Africa as a whole. These organisations include the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia.
“In September 2018, a delegation from the National Board of Ethiopia visited ZEC on a learning mission in preparation for Ethiopia’s 2020 General Elections. The delegation was led by the electoral management body’s Chairperson, Ambassador Samia Zekaria Gutu who expressed interest in adopting Biometric Voter Registration which has been successfully implemented in Zimbabwe,” he said.