Rural councils gear for 2018 polls
RURAL councillors have requested a meeting with President Mugabe to help pitch campaign messages for the 2018 harmonised elections, since they have first-hand knowledge of problems faced by the majority in rural communities.
The councillors would also want to appraise the President on progress made so far by rural councils in meeting Zim-Asset targets.
The majority of Zimbabweans live in the rural areas where Zanu-PF has remained unshaken in the past elections.
Association of Rural District Councils of Zimbabwe president Dr Killer Zivhu said councillors were in touch with communities on a daily basis, hence they were aware of the “real problems” faced by the people.
“We are different from Members of Parliament who are briefed on what happens in their constituencies,” he said. “We are in touch with the village, the household. We know people by their names and the problems each one of them faces, hence we have first-hand information on what is happening on the ground.
“We are the ones who distribute food aid as well as agricultural inputs. We want to brief the President on the challenges we face as well as compliments and com- plaints we get from the people. We are well positioned to tell the President the reality of the situation in our communities ahead of the 2018 elections.
“We want to thank President Mugabe for various initiatives done by Government to uplift our rural councils and communities. When it comes to food distribution, I want to assure him that everything is being done above board. There is no politicisation as claimed by some quarters. We have Zanu-PF and MDC-T councillors in rural communities who are all discharging their duties professionally.”
Dr Zivhu said the revenue base of rural district councils had declined because it was taken over by some Government ministries and departments.
Turning to Zanu-PF councillors in rural district councils, Dr Zivhu said they were fully behind President Mugabe’s leadership and the party, saying they will not support MPs and Senators who want to hold the party to ransom.
He said there were MPs and Senators who thought they were bigger than the party, hence they wanted the party to dance to their tune.
These always threatened to incite voters to vote against the party if their goals were not met.
“The President must not lose sleep because of such people who resort to ‘Bhora musango’. We are also concerned that some people are talking about factionalism,” said Dr Zivhu.
“The good thing about Zanu-PF councillors is that none of them aspires to take over the presidency, hence we will campaign for President Mugabe.
“We will stand up for the party and carry out door-to-door campaigns, educating people to go and vote for our party. We will educate them on our manifesto and Zanu-PF Government policies.”
Dr Zivhu said if their request finds favour, councillors would like to host the President at Great Zimbabwe “where the country derives its name from”.