By Innocent Mujeri

….as party members grumble over high subscription rates

Members of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) are grumbling over high subscription rates set by the party’s leadership to raise funds to support various party programs, the Harare Post has learnt.

This publication learnt that ZAPU’s treasurer general,  Mark Mbayiwa, recently informed his party members that it was about to increase the subscription rates in order to generate income to finance their party’s activities.

What irked many ZAPU supporters was not only the hike in subscription amounts but also that they were also indexed in United States dollars (USD).

A ZAPU supporter, Sipho Ndlovu, told this reporter that last month the party pegged its monthly subscriptions at US$3 or US$36 per annum, a figure described as insensitive and beyond the reach of many ZAPU supporters.

Ndlovu went further to accuse the party leadership, singling out the treasurer general, for failing to devise ways of financing the party instead of relying on members’ subscriptions.

“Indeed, ama subscriptions luphawu lokhuthi umuntu uyi member ye nhlanganiso (Subscriptions are a sign that one is a member of the organization). But we cannot tax our members so much through payment of high subscriptions. The party must find other means of raising revenue,” fumed Ndlovu.

He further castigated the party leadership for failing to properly run the party and that they have failed to transform it into a viable opposition political party.

“Our leaders are clueless and lack a transformative mind that can drive the party into a viable opposition political party. We pay high rentals for our offices, yet it is an empty space, which can be turned into income generating projects. Can you imagine that a simple gadget like a photocopier cannot be found at our offices but the leaders are driving and fueling their cars everyday using party resources at the expense of the party,” said the source.

Other ZAPU members who spoke to this publication said they were now contemplating deserting as the leadership lacks vision and strategy.

The members said they cannot continue paying high subscriptions to a party which has continuously failed to gain traction in Zimbabwean politics.

Disgruntlements about the subscriptions are likely to hamper ZAPU’s extraordinary congress which is set for the last quarter of the year.

ZAPU’s fortunes in Zimbabwe’s political landscape have continued to dwindle and have since become a fringe political party with no representation in parliament.

Efforts to get a comment from ZAPU Spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa, were fruitless as her phone went unanswered.