MDC and Zapu have pledged free transport to Zimbabweans living in South Africa willing to come home and take part in the elections on July 31.
Nduduzo Tshuma Staff Reporter South Africa’s The New Age reported that MDC secretary for the branch based in the neighbouring country, Khumbulani Moyo, told a rally in Berea, Johannesburg, SA, at the weekend that they were putting in place logistics for Zimbabweans who wanted to vote but could not afford to travel. “There are plus four million Zimbabweans living in South Africa and those votes are crucial if we want to see a change of government,” he was quoted as saying. Moyo said Zimbabwe’s population has been estimated at 12,5 million and the number of its people in South Africa constitutes almost a third of the total figure. “We are making transport logistic arrangements for our people to go home and vote. We need those votes, all of them,” he said. “If we target the four million Zimbabweans in South Africa to take part in elections, we will definitely get a change of government. “Those people need to go back home to vote.” Speaking at the same rally, Zapu spokesperson Busani Bhalagwe reportedly said Hillbrow was the “home and heart of Zimbabwean migrants” in South Africa and political parties should take advantage of those numbers. The paper reported that the Zimbabwean migrants were bussed in from Diepsloot, Cosmo City, Alexandra, Germiston, Leondale and Soweto to take part at the joint MDC and Zapu rally. Zapu and MDC signed an electoral pact a fortnight ago. The Zimbabwean population in South Africa is increasingly becoming a contested constituency, with a number of parties courting them to return home and vote. Recently, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s posters were plastered in downtown Johannesburg, as the MDC-T leader hoped to persuade people in the Diaspora to take part in the July 31 election.
