Mugabe set for key party meeting

Zimbabwe's veteran strongman Robert Mugabe is expected to rally the ZANU-PF party faithful on Friday, in the last party conference before what is likely to be the 88-year-old's last election. Delegates gathered at the party's 5,000-seater conference centre on the outskirts of the central city of Gweru, hoping to plot a course toward elections that are slated to take place some time next year. But the party, and Mugabe -- who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain 32 years ago -- face an uphill struggle to win over voters, many of whom are angered at the poor state of the economy. Analysts say Mugabe will likely double down on a populist message of black empowerment, despite the risk of spooking those investors that remain in the country. A controversial indigenisation law was passed two years ago, forcing all foreign-owned firms to cede a 51-percent share to locals in what Mugabe says is a reversal of imbalances created during colonial rule. Critics allege the programme is really about the enrichment of Mugabe's ZANU-PF cronies. The conference comes as the party battles to patch up the damage done by factionalism, which cost it dearly in the 2008 general elections. In that election, for the first time since independence in 1980, ZANU-PF lost its majority in parliament. That helped force the veteran leader into a shaky power-sharing government with long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, whom he will face at the polls.