Veterans to present ZANU with campaign bill

Zimbabwe’s war veterans want the ruling party to pay them the equivalent of US $270,000 to wage an “effective” re-election campaign for President Robert Mugabe, the independent ‘Financial Gazette’ reported on Thursday. “The war veterans executive is meeting on Saturday to draw up a comprehensive budget for the presidential election which will be presented to the party,” Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA) secretary-general, Andy Mhlanga was quoted as saying. Mhlanga said the veterans had been given US $360,000 for last year’s violence-wracked parliamentary election. For next year’s presidential poll, the veterans are seeking to establish themselves in urban centres - the stronghold of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.