ZANU-PF budgets $150 million for Mugabe poll campaign

The ruling ZANU-PF party has budgeted $150 million Zimbabwean dollars (US $2.7 million) to fund President Robert Mugabe’s crucial re-election bid next year, the ‘Financial Gazette’ said on Thursday. The report said the party’s fundraising committee and its department of finance would within the next two weeks map out ways to “kick-start the massive fundraising campaign aimed at raising the millions needed to get Mugabe re-elected”. The report said that the governing party would mobilise more money from local business and from its own investments. “We are looking at putting in place about $150 million for the presidential election and we are working towards that. We will find the amount to run an effective campaign and, if need be, we will fork it out from our investments,” a senior ZANU-PF official was quoted as saying.