The ruling ZANU PF party has selected 10 candidates to represent Matabeleland North province on the newly formed Provincial Council.
As per the Constitution’s devolution agenda, Provincial Councils will be created to give provinces more power and improve governance.
Political parties must nominate 5 men and 5 women candidates for the Council, with seats allocated based on election performance.
ZANU PF’s national commissar Mike Bimha ordered provinces to select candidates through consensus or voting at the district level.
Matabeleland North chairman Richard Moyo claims the selection process went smoothly. The 7 districts nominated 14 candidates, which the PCC whittled down to the required 10.
Moyo boasted that the chosen candidates are worthy representatives of the party, insisting seniority played a role in the final selection.
The 10 lucky ZANU PF nominees are Beverly Mthombeni, Nqabayezwe Maphosa, Sibongile Nyoni, Kembo Tshuma, Bekezela Sibanda, Namatama Ncube, Sithembubuhle Sibanda, Mbongeni Dube, Lot Fuzane and Presence Shoko.
Moyo said the candidate list will be submitted to ZANU PF headquarters today for sign-off before filing nomination papers.
Critics doubt how much power the Provincial Councils will actually have, claiming they’ll be toothless under ZANU PF’s iron grip on Zimbabwe’s politics.
But ZANU PF insists the Councils will improve service delivery and governance by decentralizing central government powers.
