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Mashudu Netsianda Bulawayo Bureau
Preparations for zanu-pf’s 17th Annual National People’s Conference slated for Esigodini, Matabeleland South Province, have reached fever pitch, with the party providing transport for each district, the ruling party’s secretary for Transport and Welfare Cde July Moyo has said.

The serious business of the conference begins with a Politburo meeting today at the party headquarters in Harare, followed by a Central Committee meeting at the same venue tomorrow.

On Thursday, delegates travel to the conference venue for the official opening which will be presided over by the party’s First Secretary and President, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The conference — which is running under the theme: “Zimbabwe Is Open for Business: Peace, Unity towards an Upper Middle-Income Economy By 2030” — is expected to attract about 5 000 delegates from the country’s 10 provinces.

Speaking at a preparatory meeting at Esikhoveni Training Institute in Esigodini on Sunday, Cde Moyo said each district will get a bus and the buses will be inspected first by the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) for roadworthiness.

“We have allocated each district one bus to carry delegates to and from the conference and those buses will have to undergo vehicle examination by VID to determine their roadworthiness since they will be ferrying people to and from the venue of the meeting.

“We have identified strategic points where delegates will be picked up,” he said.

Cde Moyo said his department would also engage Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Engineer Joel Biggie Matiza to address the issue of de-congesting the Esigodini tollgate by introducing a manual system during the course of the conference.

“We are looking at the issue of de-congesting the tollgate considering that there will be a lot of traffic during the conference. I am in the process of engaging my counterpart in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development over the issue. A lot of civil works have been completed, including access roads and the parking bay,” he said.

Cde Moyo said 8,4 tonnes of meat is required to feed the delegates. So far, Beitbridge has donated 14 cattle while Esigodini has offered 26 cattle.

zanu-pf provincial chairperson for Matabeleland South Cde Rabelani Choeni yesterday said the province has handed over the venue of the conference to the national coordinating committee and they were in the process of finalising a few touch ups, including mobilising cattle, which would feed delegates.

He said the province has been allocated seven buses to ferry delegates to and from the conference.

“We would like to welcome delegates to the 17th National People’s Conference, which we are hosting as Matabeleland South, a Rainbow province with diversified culture. We also would like to urge delegates to desist from drinking and driving to save lives,” Cde Choeni said.

He said the conference, the first in the Second Republic, would be one of the most successful conferences in the history of Zanu-PF.

Cde Choeni said the conference would consolidate national efforts towards reviving Zimbabwe’s economy, a marked departure from the previous regime where politicking was the order of the day.

In line with President Mnangagwa’s enunciation that in the Second Republic the party has supremacy over Government, Zanu-PF is expected to come up with key economic decisions to be tabled before Government for implementation.

The conference is the first to be officiated by President Mnangagwa in his capacity as First Secretary and President following his election at the party’s Extraordinary Congress in Harare last year.

The conference follows the party’s resounding victory in the July 2018 harmonised elections.