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Conrad Mupesa

Mashonaland West Bureau

Former National Alliance for Good Governance (NAGG) president, Dr Shakespeare Maya, who rejoined Zanu PF in 2018 and was recently elected Chegutu District Coordinating Committee (DCC) secretary for science and technology, is confident President Mnangangwa will garner five million votes in the 2023 election.

Zanu PF structures are working to ensure the party gets five million votes in the harmonised elections, in a development that will allow the party and Government to continue with the National Development Strategy 1 and Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy.

In an interview, Dr Maya said he was committed to supporting the Second Republic, its leader President Mnangagwa and the entire ruling party so that it retains all the seats it won, and gets a sizeable number of parliamentary and council seats being held by the MDC.

“I am confident that the party is going to retain all the seats and attain the five million voter mark in the 2023 harmonised election. As a recently elected DCC member, I will work to the best of my abilities to campaign for President Mnangagwa and our ruling party,” he said.

“The fact that I have been in the party for less than two years and managed to rise from cell to the DCC shows that the Second Republic will garner more votes in the coming election but it takes attitude from other members not to elbow others out, but hooking in people to attain the five million voter mark.”

The 67-year-old politician had been a perennial participant in the country’s Presidential elections since 2000.

Realising that Zanu PF was a huge institution that is difficult to push away easily, Dr Maya retraced his footsteps to the ruling party in 2018.

He said Operation Restore Legacy quickened his decision to rejoin Zanu PF after his wishes had been resisted by some members in the First Dispensation.

Dr Maya said under President Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe is in the right hands.

“The President is engaging the local, regional, and international communities. President Mnangagwa has come up with the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), which also gives voice to the local opposition parties as he believes Zimbabwe will move forward in harmony,” he said.

Dr Maya said slogans alone are not enough to support President Mnangagwa, but increased production as well.

“We set up separate factories, one in Chegutu and the other in Ruwa, where we deal with mining equipment. At least 27 youths are employed at the Chegutu plant and 34 at Ruwa.

“Production will support councils and the Government to get revenue while youths get salaries at the end of the month,” said Dr Maya said.

Dr Maya studied at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of Wisconsin and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Energy Analysis and Policy and PhD in Land Resources.