Source: Fund your own campaigns, Mujuru tells candidates – DailyNews Live
Mugove Tafirenyika 27 July 2018
HARARE – People’s Rainbow Coalition (PRC) presidential candidate Joice
Mujuru has ordered her council and parliamentary candidates to fund their
own campaigns ahead of next weeks’ elections.
In correspondence to the party’s aspiring candidates last week, Mujuru’s
PRC said the alliance had failed to raise money for its election campaign.
In a letter following a meeting of the coalition’s principals in Harare
last week, the coalition’s secretary-general, Gorden Moyo, said it was
agreed that owing to circumstances beyond its control, the party would not
be able to help its candidates financially.
Moyo expressed regret that the lack of resources had led to some of the
party’s candidates failing to adequately reach out to the electorate.
“PRC would have wanted to fully support the campaign, materially and
financially, but circumstances beyond its control have led to the
de-funding of the campaign which has resulted in the candidates failing to
fully reach out to the electorate. This is regrettable,” Moyo said.
He directed that all the PRC candidates must “do their best under these
difficult circumstances”.
He, however, promised “some small support in terms of fuel” and election
agents’ assistance “shall be availed to the MPs in due course”.
Moyo also revealed that the PRC had failed to provide an adequate number
of polling agents. The PRC would “only be able to support just one
election agent per polling station”.
“Therefore all MPs and councillors are required to stick to this
requirement except where the candidates are able to personally support
extra agents.
“All Senators and PRs are also advised to work very closely with, and
support MPs and councillors in all campaign programmes, both materially
and financially,” the letter said.
Moyo also announced that one of the PRC’s principals, Gilbert Dzikiti, is
now the coalition’s spokesperson.
“All members are advised that … Dzikiti has been appointed to beef up
the publicity team. He shall assist (Gift) Nyandoro as the spokesperson of
PRC up until the immediate post-election period.
“In his new role … Dzikiti shall also assist Michael Phiri in handling
the election-related logistics.
“All PRC spokespersons in all our five parties are required to ratchet up
their publicity at national and provincial levels.
“On this note, the principals would like to thank the few youths who have
kept the PRC flag high in the social media. But these need to be
complimented by spokespersons.”
The PRC also expressed concern that it continues to lose supporters to
other parties while some of its candidates are allegedly campaigning for
other parties.
Moyo threatened that “stern measures will be taken against all those found
working against PRC as soon as the security concludes its investigation
countrywide”.
“Principals noted with concern that there are areas where some of our
candidates are supporting independent candidates and candidates from other
parties. The security team has been tasked to provide a full report on
this sad development and measures will be taken before or after the
elections,” the letter said.
The 62-year-old Mujuru was former president Robert Mugabe’s deputy for a
decade and seen as the veteran leader’s shoo-in successor until he fired
her in 2014, accusing her of leading a plot to oust him.
She launched the National People’s Party in March 2016 to challenge her
ally-turned-adversary, and has been campaigning as a presidential
candidate for the PRC coalition in next week’s election, promising to
revive the economy and repair strained relations with the West.
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