THE upcoming 22nd Zanu PF Annual National People's Conference in Mutare will be a more streamlined gathering, with a significantly reduced number of delegates and a sharp emphasis on the state of the economy.

Scheduled for October 13 to 18 at the Mutare Polytechnic Pavilion Grounds, the Conference will commence with preliminary meetings of the Politburo and Central Committee in Harare.

In a shift from previous years, which saw over 7 000 attendees, this year's event will be limited to approximately 4 000 participants, including foreign delegates and essential service providers.

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This deliberate downsizing seeks to ensure the Conference is a substantive working session for elected representatives.

Zanu PF Director of Information and Publicity, Farai Marapira, explained the rationale behind the leaner format.

"The party is focused on ensuring that the conference is a convergence of delegates alone," Cde Marapira said.

"This ensures that we will not have people milling about during closed plenary sessions. This also ensures that attendees are only composed of the true elected representatives of the people."

He emphasised that this structure facilitates more effective communication between the party's leadership and its grassroots.

"The message of the grassroots is, therefore, cascaded up appropriately and the leadership's responses, likewise, cascade down and are communicated properly."

The accreditation process for delegates began earlier this week at the party's headquarters in Harare.

Held under the theme, "Attainment of Vision 2030 through Economic Empowerment and Value Addition," the conference is a key platform for consolidating the party's 2023 electoral mandate and evaluating the progress of the Second Republic's development agenda.