Political reporter
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced that the country will hold a peaceful by-election in the first quarter of 2022.
Addressing thousands of ZANU PF supporters at Kopa Business Centre, Chimanimani during the commissioning of the 23 km Jopa-Kopa road, the President said the by-elections were expected to serve as a barometer on the readiness of the revolutionary party for the Harmonised Elections slated for 2023 where he was unanimously endorsed as the sole candidate for the party.
“From the centre of my heart, I would like to profoundly express my gratitude for your attendance. With these numbers, it has shown us that the 2023 elections will be a clean sweep,” said the President who was accompanied by his deputy, Dr Constantino Chiwenga and other ministers.
The country will hold by-elections to fill over 133 vacant seats occasioned by predominantly the recall of MDC-T legislators and councillors.
The President said he was confident of ZANU PF victory owing to the various projects that the Government has rolled out throughout the country. The projects, the President said, impacted positively on the lives of the citizens and no province had been left out. He mentioned the rehabilitation of Harare-Beitbridge road and said the progress was satisfactory. He added that from January next year, the Government would embark on the Harare-Kanyemba road.
The President said as the country moved towards the rainy season, the Government had already availed funds for early warning systems and mitigatory measures to save lives and infrastructures.
He also apprised his legion of supporters of his trip to Glassgow, Scotland for the climate change.
“We were in Glassgow, Scotland where the use of fossil fuels was on the agenda. The developed countries used fossil fuels to develop their industries and now they are advocating for their ban. As developing countries, we objected that.
“They are the major contributor to climate change through emission of gases when they were developing their industries. We told them that we need transitional period of between 15 to 30 years to move from fossil fuels to green energies and the developed world should fund this transition,” said the President.
President Mnangagwa assured farmers that they would continue to enjoy support from Government. He called on Agritex officers to ensure that no one is left out from the Pfumvudza programme. He implored those that feel they have been short-changed in the distribution of inputs to report to their traditional leaders or law enforcement agents.
