Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged Zanu PF party leaders to shun imposition of candidates ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
Addressing supporters in Bikita where former Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono’s advisor Munyaradzi Kereke donated 30 tonnes of maize grain last Friday, Mnangagwa said imposition of aspirants cost the party in the 2008 harmonised elections.
“As a party, in Zanu PF we must continue to vigorously work to ready ourselves for the inevitable imminent elections. DCC (district coordinating committee) formations must ensure that the party carries the wishes of the people through avoidance of imposition of candidates. The recent 12th people’s conference in Bulawayo amply stressed this resolution that there be no imposition of candidates anywhere in the party in all provinces,” Mnangagwa, a Zanu PF politburo member, said.
Speaking at the same occasion, Kereke urged Bikita villagers to reorient their cropping systems more towards production of smaller grains which thrive under dry conditions.
“The Grain Marketing Board must be adequately resourced so as to be able to promptly pay farmers for their deliveries. The current protracted delays by the GMB in paying farmers has become a form of self-imposed internal sanctions that is eroding the country’s capacity to produce enough for domestic consumption,” he said.
Kereke also launched a mobile clinic under which Bikita South, East and West communities would access medical services at their doorsteps.
