A MOVE by Zanu PF to revive its branch and cell structures, particularly in the country’s sprawling urban centres, has rattled residents with most concerned the development could stoke tensions ahead of crucial elections expected this year.
The once feared but now largely dormant branch and cell structures make up the party’s smallest possible organisational units giving the its leadership a direct link with grassroots.
Critics however say the system, once the bedrock of Zanu PF in the period after independence in 1980, also enabled party enforcers to easily identify and intimidate suspected dissenters.
During its national conference in Bulawayo last December, Zanu PF resolved to revive the system as part of preparations for key elections President Robert Mugabe insists must be held this year.
The strategy appears to be particularly targeted at the country’s towns and cities, long dominated by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party.
In Harare residents of the city’s largely poor high density suburbs said party youths were already on the ground leading the restructuring exercise.
"We now have party youths going round the streets selling membership cards and establishing these structures as well as effectively forcing people to attend meetings,” said a Kuwadzana resident who asked not to be named fearing victimisation.
“And because the cells can be street-based and therefore small, there is no way you can avoid joining and not stick out like a sore thumb,” said Mavis Mandike also from Kuwadzana.
“It would therefore be very easy for the party to identify and deal with suspected dissenters.”
In other suburbs, residents also complained that they were being forced to attend party meetings and buy membership cards.
“People are afraid because you are forced to attend the meetings. The party youths do not care that people have to go to work. But it is all a waste of time because the meetings just repeat the same old stories," another resident said.
“All the political parties are engaged in this kind of coercion, not just Zanu PF.
“So what we simply do now is buy membership cards for all the parties and learn as many of the songs and slogans as possible so that if you bump into youths from either MDC-T or Zanu PF you can prove you are a loyal cadre.”
Zanu PF wants new elections to end the coalition government arguing continuing disputes have rendered the arrangement unworkable.
However, the party wants to avoid a repeat the 2008 electoral setback when Mugabe was beaten by Tsvangirai only for the MDC-T leader to pull-out of the run-off poll, accusing Zanu PF of brutalising his supporters.
Tsvangirai insists the new elections cannot be held until reforms agreed under the Global Political Agreement including the writing of a new constitution are fully implemented.