Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) parliamentary candidate for Cowdray Park expresses unwavering confidence in the face of ZANU PF’s aspiring National Assembly candidate Mthuli Ncube’s perceived influence. Despite Ncube hosting a prominent rally with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU PF leaders at Mkhithika grounds in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, CCC’s Pashor Raphael Sibanda remains unperturbed, asserting his stronger connection with the local populace.
Sibanda, in an interview with Southern Eye, downplayed the significance of the ZANU PF rally, emphasising that every party has the right to organise events of various scales. He said:
I heard that the opposition Zanu PF hosted a huge rally. There is nothing new about it. Every party is allowed to do something big or small. They are scared of the election because they attempted to disqualify us.
It proves to people that they fear us. They have no clear idea of where to take the country. That’s why we have load-shedding and dilapidated roads. We have won this election. In 2018 it ended in the courts and this one is starting there.
The people of Cowdray Park have to choose between light and darkness, but it’s unfortunate because my brother in the opposition (Mthuli Ncube) is opposing the will of the people.
That’s why I call them the opposition. They are manipulating the works of the government to campaign. They took the project of TelOne just like they did with the project of the Ministry of Transport. While we appreciate development, we are saying we want sustainable projects.
Sibanda criticised Ncube as an outsider in Cowdray Park and urged the community to choose between progress and stagnation, highlighting the alleged manipulation of government projects by ZANU PF which he called the opposition.