The Herald reports that Women’s League deputy secretary, Cde Thokozile Mathuthu, made the remarks in Lupane during the handover of 3000 chicks donated to women by the First Lady.

Cde Mathuthu said each of the seven districts in Matabeleland North will receive 428 chicks. The handover of the chicks follows chicken rearing lessons that were conducted for the benefit of all Women’s League members. Cde Mathuthu, who is also the Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs, said there is no justification for the chicken project to fail.

"This project was started by the First Lady after realising the challenges faced by women in the country. There is a shortage of cash which is making it very difficult for women. So she saw it fit to empower women through the chicken project," she said.

Cde Mathuthu said in her wisdom, the First Lady saw the need to educate women on chicken rearing before distributing the chicks. She challenged women in the province to ensure that the project is transformed into successful businesses.

"We expect that when the project moves to the second phase we will be having all the 3 000 chickens. We don’t want this project to fail. We learnt how to rear chickens and were prepared for this project. Whenever you face challenges during the process, consult the leaders at every level. They should be in a position to assist you," she said.

She said as the Women’s League they were behind President Mugabe’s leadership and the one centre of power principle must not be contested. Cde Mathuthu challenged women to register as voters saying it will be useless to claim to support the party when individuals are not voting.