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President Mugabe

Leonard Ncube/ Walter Mswazie, Chronicle Reporters
PREPARATIONS for the Zanu-PF Youth, Presidential interface rally slated for Friday at Masvingo’s Mucheke B Stadium are now at an advanced stage with 32 buses and a number of lorries having been secured to transport youths.

Speaking during a sub-committee feedback meeting yesterday, Zanu-PF provincial youth chairman Cde Nobert Ndaarombe said preparations have moved a gear up with final touches expected tomorrow.

The interface youth rally will be held under the theme, “Honouring Our Icon, Unlocking the Value in Youth”. About 50 000 youths are expected to attend the rally.

Cde Ndaarombe said Ras Caleb and Soul Jah Love, supported by local groups, will entertain people at the rally.

He said there would be enough transport to ferry youths to the venue and back to their homes.

“Everything is moving smoothly, our preparations are a gear up and not facing any challenges. We have secured 31 buses and several lorries to ferry youths from their respective ward centres to the venue and back to their destinations. We have received about 6 000 litres of fuel and more is still coming from our stakeholders,” said Cde Ndaarombe.

“The stadium we are going to use, Mucheke Arena B, is presently being graded to avert the accumulation of dust. Workmen are busy as we speak and by the time we will have our final meeting on Wednesday where our youth Secretary Cde Kudzanayi Chipanga will attend, the venue will be ready. The Politburo will also be there to give their final approval of the venue on the same day before the big day on Friday.”

Speaking at the same occasion, the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, Cde Shuvai Mahofa, warned MPs against dividing youths along factional lines through providing buses as individuals and not as a party. “I am saying this because there is something I have observed. We do not want to hear that there are MPs who provide buses as individuals and choose which youth members to get into those buses. This is a youth rally, let our children do their own things with President Mugabe. We do not want chaos here, if you harbour divisive tendencies please stay away with your buses,” said Cde Mahofa.

President Mugabe has held similar rallies in Mashonaland East and Manicaland provinces. After Masvingo he is expected to head to Matabeleland North.

Zanu-PF’s Matabeleland North youth leadership has since set July 14 as the date for the Presidential Youth Interface rally in the province.

Zanu-PF Youth League provincial secretary for information and publicity Cde Elias Sibanda said the party’s Secretary for Youth Affairs Cde Kudzanai Chipanga was in Lupane on Sunday to kick start preparations.

“Cde Chipanga was here and we agreed on July 14 as the date for the big day at Somhlolo Stadium in Lupane,” said Cde Sibanda in a telephone interview.

“We wish to give President Mugabe a moment of his time and we are targeting 70 000 people. We would have gone for a bigger number but our challenge is the geography of our province which is largely rural hence some people will fail to make it but we want this to be exciting for us.”

Cde Sibanda said the province has organised a series of inter-district meetings where youths are being afforded an opportunity to spell out their challenges which will be presented to President Mugabe to address them during the rally.

“As part of preparations, we want youths to speak but it will be difficult for the President to listen and address the concerns on the day. What we have done is to document all challenges which will be sent to His Excellency.

“We have organised a number of inter-district meetings where our provincial youth chair (Cde Mbongeni Dube) is leading a team gathering people’s concerns which will be sent to the President a week before he comes here so that he will be aware of the challenges beforehand,” said Cde Sibanda.

He said various committees have been activated to prepare for the day.

The party’s secretary for Transport and Welfare, Cde Daniel Sithole, said they had already started mobilising transport to ferry people to Lupane.

@ncubeleon