CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC)’s rural mobilisation drive is reportedly giving Zanu PF sleepless nights, with the ruling party’s provincial co-ordinating committees (PCCs) now tasked to counter the opposition party’s strategy.
Rural areas have traditionally been Zanu PF strongholds,
but after a strong showing in the March by-elections, the opposition is seeking
to establish a foothold in a bid to turn the scales.
Zanu PF Masvingo provincial chairperson Robson Mavhenyengwa
acknowledged that the opposition’s rural mobilisation programme has rattled the
ruling party.
“We cannot continue to sit on our laurels anymore. It is
time to work hard because CCC is now everywhere. They are campaigning door-to-door
in rural areas. They are coming to our strongholds and we cannot leave them to
do what they please. We need strategies to counter them,” Mavhenyengwa said in
an interview.
Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe, who is also
Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson, also held a meeting with Zanu PF
structures in Mushumbi Pools, Mbire, where he reportedly fretted over CCC’s
inroads into rural areas.
“He encouraged party supporters not to entertain and listen
to CCC activists. He encouraged village heads to make sure that people are
registered to vote for Zanu PF. He also said people, who are warming up to the
opposition, were sell-outs,” a source said.
Kazembe was not available for comment yesterday.
CCC interim secretary for rural mobilisation, Happymore
Chidziva told NewsDay that the party’s rural mobilisation exercise, code-named
Mugwazo, would be a “game-changer” as the country heads for the 2023 elections.
“We have launched a massive recruitment and mobilisation
exercise called Mugwazo. We are meeting ordinary citizens in rural areas. This
is a nationwide programme in which we are mobilising people to register to vote
and recruiting them to the CCC party,” Chidziva said.
But Zanu PF director for information Tafadzwa Mugwadi
played down assertions that the ruling party was fretting over CCC’s rural
mobilisation exercise.
“We are not going to lose sleep over what MDC or CCC does.
We are the governing party. Our focus is on winning the elections in 2023. Our
focus is to fulfil the promises we made to our people. Our focus is to improve
the lives of ordinary people in Zimbabwe,” Mugwadi said.
Zanu PF is targeting to woo five million voters, while the
CCC speaks of reaching out to six million voters in its on-going voter
mobilisation drive to ensure a resounding victory in the 2023 polls. Newsday
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