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From George Maponga in Masvingo
Preparations for the 16th Zanu-PF Annual National People’s conference have gathered momentum with civil construction works set to start this week at Masvingo Showgrounds, the venue of the ruling party’s indaba. The conference expected to be graced by over 5 000 delegates from all provinces and beyond the country’s borders will be held in December, but exact dates have not been announced.

Masvingo Showgrounds — along the Harare-Masvingo highway — was last month endorsed by the Zanu-PF Politburo as the venue of the indaba owing to easy accessibility, among other factors.

Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial chairman Cde Amasa Nhenjana told The Herald that preparations for the indaba were progressing well with construction works on the venue expected to start this weekend. Cde Nhenjana said the ruling party had asked for help from construction companies in Masvingo to assist in the preparatory work at the venue where access roads and a clinic will be set up ahead of the indaba.

“We have asked for a helping hand from donors in Masvingo province who have construction equipment such as bulldozers, front-end loaders and graders among other things to assist us by carrying out construction works at the venue where we need to build four outgoing access roads and other four roads going inwards,’’ he said.

“We also need to build a clinic and toilets at the venue and the clinic will service the surrounding community even after the conference together with the toilets that will be connected to the city’s sewer system.’’

The Masvingo provincial chairman said the ruling party in Masvingo is this weekend expected to hold a co-ordinating committee meeting to tie loose ends ahead of resumption of construction work at the venue.

He said the party is pinning its hopes on assistance from donors to carry out most of the work, adding that in cases where payment is required approval will have to come from the Zanu-PF Politburo.

“We have done most of the things that need to be done such as booking of hotels where senior party officials will be accommodated and we have managed to raise more than 50 cattle that has been pledged by party members in the province,’’ he said.

Cde Nhenjana said Zanu-PF Masvingo provincial secretary for finance Cde Killer Zivhu had pledged 45 beasts for the conference while each of the seven districts in Masvingo province had been tasked to donate five beasts each for the indaba.

The ruling party has already said this year’s conference in Masvingo will not be elective and will instead focus on coming up with resolutions to revive the economy among other pressing national challenges.

Masvingo last hosted the Zanu-PF National Annual People’s conference at Masvingo Teachers’ College in 2003. Last year’s conference was held in the resort town of Victoria Falls in Matabeleland North province.

The province was chosen to host this year’s indaba after successfully hosting 21st February Movement celebrations — held every year to commemorate President Mugabe’s birthday — at the Great Zimbabwe monument on February 27.

The President’s birthday celebrations were attended by a record 50 000 people.