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Zanu-PF’s Seventh National People’s Congress enters its third day today amid hopes that the once-in-every-five-years event will come up with resolutions to drive the country’s multifaceted development forward.

The showpiece is being held under the theme “Building a prosperous Zimbabwe: Leaving no one and no place behind.” A meeting of the Politburo, which is the secretariat of the Central Committee, on Wednesday marked the beginning of the congress.

The Central Committee met yesterday ahead of the opening of the congress to the wider membership of the party, invited guests, diplomats and sister political parties today and tomorrow.

Anything that happens in Zanu-PF, as the ruling party, is of great public interest. It is the party that develops national policies and oversees their implementation through the Government. So what is happening in Harare this week will capture the attention of the nation.

All the wings and structures of the party have already endorsed President Mnangagwa as the party leader and sole presidential candidate for next year’s elections. The Youth, War Veterans and Women’s leagues have eloquently pronounced themselves on that. Therefore, we expect the party, through congress to confirm him as its President and First Secretary for the next five years which makes him its only presidential candidate for the election in July or August 2023.

“Our colossal mass party is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring that as the people of Zimbabwe, we grow our own food, manufacture our own clothes as well as construct our own roads, dams, schools and clinics and so on,” he told the Politburo on Wednesday.

“Brick by brick, stone upon stone, step by step, we are surely building a prosperous Zimbabwe leaving no one and no place behind. We will never be apologetic about singing our own song, and keeping our membership and nation updated on the successful milestones we are achieving under our Zanu-PF party.”

Indeed, that he has led the country commendably since 2017 goes without saying. Through his leadership, the country has scored multiple milestones.

We are seeing much development in terms of building of infrastructure, growth in investment, growth in exports, job creation, national unity and peace, growth in domestic value addition and beneficiation, decline in inflation, stabilising national currency and so on.

President Mnangagwa

We look forward to the congress coming up with resolutions that will deepen the foregoing successes.
The goal is for the party and Government to keep on the path to achieving Vision 2030 of an empowered, prosperous upper middle-income society over the next eight years.

The party recently elected new members of the Central Committee, which comprises dozens of new faces and senior ones who were re-elected. This means that yesterday’s was the last meeting of the Central Committee that had been in office over the past few years.

The new one will therefore, assume office at the ongoing congress.
We are sure that the new structure will steer the party and by extension, the Government and country as a whole forward.

In addition to the party confirming President Mnangagwa as its leader, a new Central Committee taking office and the various resolutions that will be made, another notable and keenly awaited process will be the President’s choice of the new Politburo.

The meeting held on Wednesday might have been the last for some as that Politburo will dissolve this week.

All eyes are on the President as he studies the names in the recently-elected Central Committee to pick the cadres he deems fit to serve the party as Politburo members, while dropping or excluding those that may be picked next time. There must be a few nerves in some quarters as some cadres might be unsure if they will secure appointment or not.