ZAPU held a fundraiser in Matabeleland South province last week on Saturday to mobilise financial and material resources for youths and elderly self-help projects.

The event, under the theme: Great things start small, was held at Dingumuzi Stadium in Plumtree.

Zapu Matabeleland South provincial treasurer, Sikhanyisile Moyo said proceeds from the event were earmarked to help uplift the lives of youths and elderly.

“The money raised will go towards the support of horticulture, sewing and poultry projects for our youths and old people,” Moyo said.

“The projects will target various youths in Bulilima and other adjacent areas.”

The Zapu treasurer said her party was keen on empowering locals vis-à-vis giving handouts, which she said was unsustainable.

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“Unlike other political parties which use taxpayers’ money to buy votes, Zapu believes in the real empowerment of citizens,” she said.

“We believe this project will go a long way in eradicating poverty among our people.”

Zapu’s inclination towards empowering communities emerged at independence in 1980 when it convinced former Zipra liberation war fighters to pool their demobilisation windfalls and invest in such properties as farms and companies.

The companies were, however, seized by government amid the mid-1980s Gukurahundi disturbances and the party is still struggling to repossess the properties which include such building as Magnet House in central Bulawayo.

Former Zipra war veterans initiated the introduction of pushcarts which are now a widely used mode of transporting goods in urban areas across the country.