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From George Maponga in Masvingo
The 16th Zanu-PF Annual National People’s Conference, which opened on Tuesday, has brought life in the normally sleepy city of Masvingo, with residents and businesses last night bracing for the arrival of thousands of delegates for the indaba. President Mugabe officially opens the conference tomorrow. The conference will be held at the Masvingo Showgrounds under the theme, “Moving with Zim-Asset in Peace and Unity.’’

Masvingo City was yesterday a hive of activity as residents, traders and businesses prepared to cash in on the potential business to be brought by the arrival of nearly 7 000 delegates.

Accreditation of outstanding delegates such as service chiefs, law enforcement agents who will be charged with maintaining peace and order during the indaba together with members of the media, was done at Masvingo Polytechnic on Monday and Tuesday.

Only special delegates were being accredited yesterday with Masvingo acting Zanu-PF provincial chairman Cde Amasa Nhenjana, saying the exercise would continue today after the arrival of members of the national leadership led by political commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere.

“Accreditation of delegates has stopped for today save for very special cases, otherwise the list of all others who have submitted their names to get accredited for our conference will be dealt with by the national political commissar (Cde Kasukuwere) when he comes tomorrow (today)”, he said.

Cde Nhenjana said that they expected delegates to start arriving last night from the four corners of the country and beyond. The ruling party hired nearly 100 buses to transport delegates to the ruling party indaba.

“We expect the first group of delegates to start arriving here by midnight (last night) with the majority coming in thereafter,’’ said Cde Nhenjana. “We have dispatched food to all the kitchens for all the provinces so that whenever delegates arrive they will have something to eat, there is plenty of food,’’ he added.

The acting Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairman said accommodation for the delegates had been sorted out. “We dispatched over 12 000 blankets and beds to various schools, colleges and universities in and around Masvingo. Every province now knows where their people will be accommodated so they will go straight there after arrival,’’ said Cde Nhenjana.

He said the sterling preparations done ahead of this year’s conference had set the stage for it to be dubbed the “mother of all conferences’’. All Masvingo hotels, lodges and guest houses have been fully booked for the whole of this week thanks to the Zanu-PF.

On the sidelines of the Zanu-PF conference President Mugabe is also expected to officially open the Dr Simon Vengesai Muzenda Heritage site that was built in Masvingo’s Mucheke suburb in honour of the late Vice President known as The Soul of The Nation.

The heritage site was built at the late Vice President’s dwelling where he used to stay before venturing into nationalist politics in the late 1950s to early 60s. The site is being refurbished with assistance from the Friends of Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Trust together with the Great Zimbabwe University’s Department of Culture and Heritage Studies.