CHINHOYI - The Zanu PF annual conference which kicked off yesterday, breathed new life into the usually sleepy town of Chinhoyi.
Police details were out in full force for the conference, which will likely determine the way forward for the ruling party.
This conference is expected to have a bearing on the direction the country will take in addressing the liquidity crunch which is currently crippling the economy.
Travellers to Chinhoyi were yesterday subjected to thorough searches by police at the provincial Heroes’ Acre.
This journalist even had the contents of her purse emptied during the massive police operation, with commuter omnibuses subjected to similar searches.
Chinhoyi University of Science and Technology(CUT), the venue of the conference, was also cordoned by police officers who were directing traffic to different venues.
Accreditation of delegates and journalists was underway at the Chinhoyi Training Centre.
Some delegates were turned away for one reason or the other.
Several journalists including this journalist were told that the Daily News had not been approved to cover the conference and could therefore not be accredited.
A sea of party supporters spent the better part of the day begging for permission to attend their party’s conference whose agenda is ‘ZimAsset and Growing the Economy.’
Analysts say that the economy remains the albatross around President Robert Mugabe who recently won the mandate to form a new government after claiming a landslide victory in the July 31 plebiscite.
The succession issue also remains one of the major headaches.
The unresolved matter has caused serious division within the party.
Located in Mashonaland West, approximately 120 km from the country’s capital city, Chinhoyi is a town pregnant with history.
The province it is famous for a government building which was named in honour of the seven liberation heroes who started the first Chimurenga war.