Experts from China\u2019s Development and Reform Commission are already in the country to help with Zimbabwe\u2019s reform agenda, vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa, who was in China for a visit \u201cto deepen\u201d cooperation between Zanu PF and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) told Chinese national television that the two parties had agreed to \u201cupgrade their relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut above that, the Chinese government will second experts to the Office of the President and Cabinet from the Development and Reform Commission of China to help us structure the roadmap for the recovery for our economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready, we have identified five experts who will be coming to Zimbabwe on July 10 and, on our side, we have identified 20 experts mainly in economic and strategic sections of government in fulfilment of our ZimAsset,\u201d said Mnangagwa.<\/p>\n
He said the purpose of his visit was to deepen relations between the CCP and Zanu PF.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe specific purpose of the visit is to promote, deepen and strengthen the relations between Zanu PF and the Communist Party of China.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut most importantly, we have upgraded our cooperation agreement so that we in Zanu PF are going to benefit from the various areas of cadre training as well as support in developing and resourcing our activities in the party,\u201d said Mnangagwa, adding the two parties had also agreed on exchange programs for youths and women.<\/p>\n
According to the vice president, the CCP will help Zanu PF to construct and run \u201cschools in which we will train our staff running the party\u201d.<\/p>\n
The first time Zimbabwe had a training program run by an Asian nation resulted in the establishment of the notorious 5th Brigade, a mean military unit trained by North Korea and blamed for the massacre of more than 20,000 people in what became known as Gukurahundi in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa\u2019s revelations come as tensions heightened in the country with opposition formations seemingly coalescing ahead of a make or break election in 2018 that President Robert Mugabe has already declared he will contest at the age of 94.<\/p>\n
Zanu PF is known to use state apparatus to retain power and has, in the past, not hesitated to unleash youths trained under a partisan program to harass, intimidate and murder if need be political opponents as happened in the 2008 run-off elections.<\/p>\n