BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA.
ZANU PF has survived for fifty eight years. It has been blessed with leaders with vision which has kept the party together all these years.
ZANU PF starts Crome the grass roots. It realises that power is for the people and this power in ZANU PF flows from the grassroots. The begging of the structures is called
1. The Cell
The cell is the vanguard of the Party at the level of the village and the community, representing its interest, expressing its aspiration and mobilizing the membership to work together for their area’s development. Members of Cell Execute Committee hold Office for a period of one year. So the heart beat of the party is the Cell. ZANU PF is people and people are ZANU PF are people.
2. The Branch
The branch is made up of ten cells. Its Executive Committee is elected every two years at a Branch Conference by delegates representing each of the ten cells.
3. The District
The district consists of 10 Branches whose delegates elect the District Executive Committee once every two years.
4. District Coordinating Committee (DCC)
The DCC consists of elected members from the branches who represent the main wing, women’s leauge and the youth league.
5. The Province
The province consists of as many Administrative Districts as there are in a Province and all Party Districts. Members of the Provincial Executive Council are elected at Provincial Conference by the delegates representing each Party district in the province. The provincial elections are held once every three years.
6. The Women’s League
Every woman who has attained the age of 18 years and who is a member of the Party is entitled to membership of the Women’s League through her Branch Executive Committee. While it is an autonomous body, the League functions within the main structure of Zanu PF. Its main objectives are to promote the rights of women and remove all impediments to their development as full and equal members of our society.
7. The Youth League
The Youth League is an integral part of Zanu PF. Its major objectives are to mobilize the youth to fully participate in the political, social, cultural and economic affairs of the country. Membership is open to all Zimbabweans between the ages of 15 and 35 years.
8. The Central Committee
The Central Committee is the principal organ of the Congress and consists of 230 members drawn from the Party’s country 10 Provinces. It acts on behalf of Congress when it is not in session and among other things; implement all policies, resolutions, directives, decisions, and programs enunciated by Congress. The Central Committee meets once in three months.
9. The Politburo
The Politburo is the standing Committee of the Central Committee and implements all the decisions, directives, rules and regulations of the Central committee. It meets at least once a month and is answerable to the Central Committee on all matters. The Patriotic Front (PF) was formed as a political and military alliance between ZAPU and ZANU during the war against white minority rule in Rhodesia(now Zimbabwe).
The PF included the Soviet Union-backed ZAPU, which was led by Joshua Nkomo and operated mainly from Zambia, and the Chinese-backed ZANU led by Robert Mugabe, which operated mainly from neighbouring Mozambique. Both movements contributed to their respective military forces.
ZAPU’s military wing was known as the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and ZANU’s guerrillas were known as the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. The objective of the PF was to overthrow the predominantly white minority government, headed by the Prime Minister Ian Smith, through political pressure and military force.
Their common goal was achieved in 1980, following the Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979, when the United Kingdom granted independence to Zimbabwe following a brief period of direct British control.
During the 1980 general election campaign, the PF parties competed separately as ZANU–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) and Patriotic Front–ZAPU (PF–ZAPU). The election was won by Mugabe and ZANU–PF, with Nkomo and his PF–ZAPU retaining a stronghold in the provinces of Matabeleland. *Objectives of the Party*
The revolutionary party has many objectives which include the following;
1. To establish and sustain a society that cherishes African Values and to create conditions for economic independence, prosperity and equitable distribution of wealth of the nation.
2. To preserve and defend the National Sovereignty and Independence of Zimbabwe.
3. To Uphold and apply fully the rule of Law, Equality before the law and Equality of opportunities for all people in Zimbabwe, regardless of race, tribe sex, religion or origin.
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