Some members of the ZNLWVA are reportedly scared stiff of joining the ruling ZANU PF as a wing arguing that the development would take away their independence.
A senior official of the ZNLWVA from Mashonaland East who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity said that the move will take away their voice. The official said:
Some of us are not really excited about the development because it is meant to placate us.
They know that once we become members of the party, then we cannot be vociferous regarding welfare issues because we will be bound by the party’s code of conduct.
We need to remain independent of the party or else we are finished.
Meanwhile, the association’s chairperson in the province, Daniel Sigauke, said that the development had been welcomed by the former freedom fighters as provides them with a platform to directly interact with the party.
The most recent ZANU PF’s People’s Annual Conference resolved that Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association and the Zimbabwe Liberation War Collaborators (Ziliwaco) were to be incorporated into the ruling party as a wing not “an appendage for political elites” or affiliates as they have been previously.
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