Since 2000, the rural vote has been decisive in major polls, with calls for the opposition party to also expand their campaigns and penetrate the rural constituencies.
“We have a strong grassroots base movement throughout the country, we are currently running a Mugwazu campaign which has a strong focus on rural penetration and this is something President Nelson Chamisa started championing as early as last year if you recall that he conducted various meet the people tours where he went to various communities to meet traditional leaders, community leaders, citizens and various rural areas where he was engaging people and this was before the CCC was even born,” said Mahere, on This Morning on Asakhe.
“And even past that we continue to see that there is a strong grassroots support that is a village based in rural areas where we continue to penetrate through our rural strategy and it’s a fallacy that the CCC is not strong in the rural areas.”
Mahere said they are currently using door-to-door campaigns to appeal to the rural communities.
“Obviously we continue to push for more media space through state media to ensure we reach all these communities, radio, there has to be more space given to independent radio broadcasters, make sure they also have licenses, but in the meantime, we are working with what we have and that is our feet to ensure that no stone is left unturned as we go on to the rural areas, no province is left behind, we are doing work Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Bulawayo province, everywhere in the country, Manicaland we are going in there as well, Mutasa, everywhere around the country, rural communities are important to us,” she said.
Mahere said they are not just reaching out to rural areas just for election purposes but these are the citizens that have been mostly left behind by the regime.
“Together with our message around getting these citizens to register to vote, we are also offering them a value proposition that includes the development of those communities, ensuring that they have the security of tenure on their land.”
She said the opposition party is going to govern better when put into power in 2023.
“One thing that Mnangagwa’s regime has been well known for through his tenure is their desire to uplift rural communities, remove them from their land to allow for commerce that does not involve them, whether it’s gold mining, agriculture resources, what happened with Dendairy saga. We have seen what they have done in areas like Chiadzwa, Chilonga, we are saying to rural communities we are going to govern better if you give us a chance.”
Mahere said villagers will not be removed from their farms when the opposition gets into power.
“You will not be removed from your farms, you are going to get security, if anything you are going to get title deeds to the land so nobody can push you around on partisan grounds.”
She said they are going to rural communities not only to ensure that they participate in winning the election in 2023 but also to ensure that they have ethical leadership post-2023.
