Zimbabwean tailors cash in on party apparel demand as poll nears

The whirring sound of a sewing machine can be heard a few paces from Judah Zunze’s workshop in Harare’s Warren Park township, as he stitches up political party regalia for a customer ahead of elections this month. Business is booming for Zunze making colourful clothing printed with smiling faces of politicians seeking office in the presidential and parliamentary elections due on Aug 23.A dozen candidates are vying to be the country’s next president but the main contest is between incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is seeking a second term and leads the ruling ZANU-PF party, and Nelson Chamisa, of the new Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). "Business is picking up as we draw closer to the elections. Orders for regalia have doubled in recent weeks,” Zunze, a former foreman in a textile company, said as he handed over red and black tunics to a ZANU-PF supporter. Ahead of the vote, the informal clothing industry that includes tailors like Zunze is cashing in on demand from party supporters wanting to wear their party colours on their sleeves.Zunze, whose signature apparel is a tunic emblazoned with Mnangagwa’s face, charges between $10 and $20 if a customer provides their own material. "Since the campaign season started, I get up to $500 per month in profit,” the father of three said. The colourful fabrics made into tunics, bags and headscarves brighten the mood at political rallies amid the economic gloom in a country with a plummeting currency, high inflation and rising unemployment."Zimbabwe has many problems and our elections have been associated with all the bad things, so this is our way of lifting spirits,” Shame Maupa, a CCC supporter sporting the party’s signature yellow regalia, said at a rally in Gweru, 300km from the capital Harare. For others, like ZANU-PF youth leader Lameck Chimanikire, the colourful outfits are not just about making a fashion statement. They are a tool to attract youth votes.Chimanikire’s red, long flowing robe fashioned in the manner of garments worn by African apostolic church members has become a spectacle at ZANU-PF rallies. "My appearance is inspiring youths to vote. Since I grew up in the apostolic church, I thought of adapting the garment to tell a political message,” Chimanikire said.Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday inaugurated a Chinese-funded power station that he said would go a long way in easing power shortages ahead of national elections. Mnangagwa, 80, who is seeking a second presidential term on August 23, has been on a ribbon-cutting spree as he attempts to portray himself as a go-getter and reassure voters about the state of the economy.He opened a coal mine on Monday and a clinic on Wednesday, before heading to the northwestern town of Hwange to officially launch the 600MW coal-fired power plant on Thursday. Analysts expect a tense vote later this month, amid a crackdown on the opposition and a disaffected population battling hyperinflation, poverty and high unemployment.Addressing supporters at a local stadium after the opening, Mnangagwa said the new plant would be "a critical enabler of development”, adding Zimbabwe was "open for business”.The landlocked southern African country has for years been reeling under severe power shortages that at their worst late last year left millions of people in the dark for up to 19 hours a day. The government declared a sudden end to blackouts in July although most people still experience daily outages lasting a couple of hours.The new power station also allowed Mnangagwa to show he still has good friends in the international arena, where Zimbabwe is largely isolated. The plant, the expansion a pre-existing station, is one of four energy projects undertaken with a $1.2bn loan from China, with which Harare has ties dating back to fight for independence from Britain. "China is always ready to help Zimbabwe to achieve its goal to uplift its people,” Chinese ambassador Zhou Ding told the stadium rally.Zimbabwe can’t access financing from international lenders like the IMF and World Bank due to payment arrears and is the target of western sanctions over graft and rights abuses.