Dr. Zhou turns down invitation to join Zanu PF, calls for Mberengwa development
MBERENGWA SON: Dr Takavafira Zhou
Dr. Takavafira Zhou, the president of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and the CCC candidate for Mberengwa Central constituency in the recent elections, has rejected calls from some Zanu pf members to join their party.
In a statement issued on 10 September 2023, Dr. Zhou said he was happy with his political affiliation and would not join Zanu pf in its present form, which he said was far detached from its founding principles.
He also urged the people of Mberengwa to unite across the political divide and stop the plunder of their natural resources, such as lithium, by Zanu pf elite and cartels.
He said Zanu pf had put the greatest sanctions in Mberengwa by cornering all strategic resources for itself and leaving the majority of the people in misery, penury and abject poverty.
Dr Zhou disclosed to Zimbabwe Observer that Mberengwa Zanu PF bigwigs told him that he had been the best candidate in elections since 2013 but lost because of the “opposition jacket I am wearing”. He however preferred not to publicly reveal the identities of Zanu PF chaps who are ‘courting’ him.
He said belonging to different political parties must never stop the people of Mberengwa from collectively planning for sustainable development in their lifetime.
“I wish to state it categorically clear that I will not join Zanu pf in its present form, far detached from it’s founding principles that were sound and prudent. I am happy as a citizen with a right to belong to a political party of choice at any time and space,” he said.
“Fundamentally, Zanu pf elite has put the greatest sanctions in Mberengwa by cornering all strategic natural resources for itself and cartels such as Tagwirei. While it is not a crime to be in Zanu pf or CCC, the people of Mberengwa will continue sinking into malice and poverty if they don’t realise that we must unite as brothers and sisters across the political divide in order to stop the plunder of resources from Mberengwa and give our area of birth a modicum of development that would lift all of us from misery, penury and abject poverty,” he added.
Dr. Zhou also decried the rampant looting of lithium in Mberengwa, which he said was one of the richest areas in terms of mineral deposits but had no meaningful development to show for it.
He called for an urgent engagement between the people of Mberengwa and the government to ensure that they benefit from their natural resources and have a say in how they are exploited.
He said he had a vision of equitable distribution of mineral earnings to all residents and improved infrastructure, health, education and agriculture in Mberengwa.
He also thanked his supporters for voting for him and vowed to continue fighting for their rights and interests as a son of Mberengwa.
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