As ZANU PF seeks to recuperate itself after ejecting Joice Mujuru and her powerful camp, the party has begun dishing out thousands of dollars, brand new cars and vast tracts of land to local pastors, as payment to the men of the cloth for routine facility sermons to prepare voters’ minds in preparation for the looming bi elections after the much anticipated ouster of Joice Mujuru MPs, in a string of activities all culminating to the 2018 polls.
Pastors have since begun receiving the same preferrential treatment as village chiefs.
More than 20 pastors at the weekend converged at the Bulawayo Red Cross building along Lobengula Street, for a mobilisation session and to discuss their recently announced special incentives from the ruling  ZANU PF party which are on condition they start political campaigns with their worshipers.
This came to light when this journalist sneaked into the meeting to attend as one of them in a bid to gather information after a tip off from one of the “anointed pastors” and founder of a Bulawayo based Pentecostal church. The clergymen are going to be beneficiaries of the farms and will also be receiving Ford vehicles and farming inputs of the same quality as those given to traditional chiefs in the country.
According to one of the pastors who was addressing the gathering and identified as Pastor Ndlovu from New Rivers of Life Ministries, “This is manna from heaven bazalwane; we have to utilise this opportunity to have farms and cash to grow our Ministries and protect our skins from agony,” he said to a round of applause from attendants.
Pastor Ndlovu’s sentiments were echoed by those of Hope Revival Apostles founding Bishop Kunene, who said the offer was a sign of a bright future. “This is a sign of a fruitful year for Christians. We need to convince our congregants of a possible violence free 2018 general election if all of us are in the farms offered to us, and we will be in safe hands by simply taking this offer,” he said.
Also in attendance were pastors from Lion of Judah, Zionist Fellowship, Zvirigo Zvezwi church, Good hope Ministries, Resurrections Fellowship, Zviratidzo Zvevapostori, Ambassadors Fellowship, End Time Message, Kingdom Fellowship Ministries, Rivers of Life Ministries, Apostolic Faith Fellowshipping, Messengers of Christ, Christian World Ministries and Zion Christian Church respectively.
In separate interviews with a number of pastors after the meeting that revealed the mission of the gathering, ZimEye.com was told that the meeting was a blessed one as it seeks to equip Christians. “This is an answer to our prayers, as land is one of the most important things on earth given by the heavens. We are in need of farms to produce our own food,” said Pastor Ruwodo of Kingdom Fellowship.
Asked to comment on their relationship with ZANU Pf, Bishop Dlodlo of Resurrections Fellowship said, “All political parties in the world are God’s creation. Therefore every individual must abide by the rules of the government of that day.
What we need is to be within the ruling party so that we can also eat the cake that was created by God, and this cake is Zimbabwe. Youngman don’t you want a farm to look after your family and to feed your family? You need to eat before you write your stories,” said one of the pastors before driving away.
Efforts to get comment from ZANU PF Bulawayo provincial Chairman Callistas Ndlovu hit a brick wall, as his mobile was continuously not reachable.
Meanwhile Central Committee member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu confirmed there are programs engaging churches.  He said, two Sundays ago we had a big church service involving more than 2000 people, organised by the churches and (Andrew) Wutaunashe’s Family Of God Church, on reconciliation and praying for leadership. And then before that we had Prayer Day on Unity Day and we had about six pastors. So we are working with churches, we are not working in isolation. We have got party members who some of them are also priests, so we don’t separate the party and the church,” he said.