Ruling party members will converge on the capital to spend more than Z$300 billion feasting – amid grinding poverty and hopelessness pervading the whole country.
Almost completely collapsed parastatals, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO), have been directed to use their trains and buses to ferry Zanu (PF) delegates to the congress, free of charge. This comes just a fortnight after the two parastatals were commandeered to ferry tens of thousands of people who were forced to participate in the pro-Mugabe solidarity march and rally.
“We have already been notified about the programme,” a senior official at ZUPCO said. “We are expected to ferry delegates from across the country to Harare for the congress.”
Zanu (PF) secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, defended the abuse of parastatals and state institutions by the party saying, “that is a national event”.
The ruling party’s special congress is expected to rubber stamp a protracted campaign by Mugabe to bulldoze his candidature for next year’s presidential elections. Factions led by retired major Solomon Mujuru and Rural Housing minister Emmerson Mnangagwa seem to have given up the fight to block Mugabe’s candidature, preparing the ground for the special event to be yet another non-event. – Itai Dzamara
Post published in: Uncategorized