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Joseph Madzimure Senior Reporter

The inaugural elective conference of the Zanu PF War Veterans League takes place today at the Harare International Conference Centre, with at least 3 500 delegates expected.

Final touches were yesterday being done to ensure a glitch-free event, while foreign delegates from sister revolutionary political parties had started trickling in.

The conference, which will elect the league’s secretaries and their deputies from the 40 candidates who have been elected in their provinces, will run till tomorrow under the theme: “The Past, Power of the Present and Inspiration of the Future”.

The secretary, the head of the league, will be appointed by the First Secretary of the party, President Mnangagwa.

Addressing the media on the state of preparedness, Zanu PF national Political Commissar Cde Mike Bimha said the country is now witnessing history in the making by holding an inaugural conference for the Zanu PF War Veterans League.

He said the deliberations of the conference will start in earnest today.

“The coming in of the war veterans league is very critical to the party because it really point to the fact that we will now see the mobilisation of the party given an added impetus bearing in mind that war veterans have the experience in mobilisation,” said Cde Bimha.

War veterans were very much deep rooted in the history of the party and very much in understanding where the party was coming from and where it was going.

He said the party is raring to go for the conference.

“We believe that we are going to have a successful and a peaceful conference which are going to underline the historic significance of the conference,” he said.

President Mnangagwa will be the guest of honour and will present his keynote address today.

War veterans have already endorsed President Mnangagwa as the sole presidential party candidate for 2023 harmonised elections.

Delegates being accredited at Zanu PF Headquarters yesterday ahead of the party’s War Veterans inaugural conference to be officially opened by President Mnangagwa today. – Picture: Believe Nyakudjara

Those who are expected to attended are invited foreign delegates, Politburo members, Central Committee members, National Consultative Assembly members, and party provincial and district leadership.

Also invited are top five national executive members from war collaborators, Zimbabwe Ex-Political Prisoners Detainees Restrictees Association (Zipedra), and non-combatants.

The party also invited traditional leaders’ council, Government ministers, senior Government officials and ambassadors from friendly countries.

Some of the delegates are already in the country while some have send their solidarity messages.

Delegates are expected to adhere to World Health Organisation guidelines.

Zanu PF national chairman Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, in terms of the party constitution, will be deliberating on the presentations.

Zanu PF War Veterans League Secretary Cde Douglas Mahiya said the war veterans league fraternity were excited that this occasion has come to  fruition.

“We have not been part and parcel of the revolutionary programme of the party since 1980 and yet we are the people who actually made it possible for the parties then ZANLA and ZAPU to be able achieve victory that gave the country’s independence in 1980. 

“There is excitement among War Veterans. Everyone is excited. Those who did not manage to witness the country’s independence are also excited in their graves,” said Cde Mahiya.

He warned opposition political parties to forget about political power saying any desire for political power is misguided.

“The question of power is not what we should be talking about as Zimbabweans, because the country got the political power from the colonisers. 

“We got that political power, we were the force behind getting that political power, so any political party that is going to discuss about the desire for political power is misguided. 

“What opposition political parties should do is to contribute towards economic development, because this is the stage of the revolution in which we are and that way it will be acceptable. Not political power. 

“No one in this country will ever expect the war veterans to accept anything rather than what we achieved. So we are going to defend that power. We have no option because that is what we yielded out of our own sacrifices,” emphasised Cde Mahiya.

“We will ensure that what the party assigned us during the liberation is going to be a reality. We are going out there and get engaged in the mobilisation of the people,’’ he said.

He hailed the President for giving war veterans an opportunity to defend their legacy so that they forge ahead with the revolution. 

He said: “We want to thank President Mnangagwa at least before we disappear on the face of the earth to be able to accomplish the mission that the party gave us when we were young people,”.

Cde Maquento Sebastiao Lopes, member of the Central Committee and director for International Relations of the MPLA of Angola who is in the country for the conference said though the league comes little too late, all focus must be on it.

“For us the invitation by Zanu PF to attend the conference is like an order that is very why we are here. 

“We share a lot with our sister party and even though we just had our elections, we could not miss this important gathering,” said Cde Lopes.

African National Congress’s president of the veterans league Cde Snuki Zikalala said it is an opportunity to exchange notes on how to take the struggle forward.

Being here is an opportunity to exchange notes on how to take the struggle forward, because it is not yet over. The ANC has a lot to learn from Zanu PF,” said Cde Zikalala.

Since independence in 1980, war veterans had to contest for party positions with other non-combatant  members.