I was accompanied by Lord Joffe, a member of the House of Lords, and Oliver Colville, a newly-elected Conservative member of the House of Commons with long experience of fighting elections.Joffe spent his early life in South Africa and was defence lawyer for Nelson Mandela when he faced the death penalty, charged with treason, in the Rivonia Trial of 1963/64. He is one of the heroes of the South African struggle and last year was invested as a Companion of O. R. Tambo, one of South Africas highest honours, by President Zuma (whom he also defended back in the 1960s).
We had planned to be in Harare when Parliament was sitting but, with no Speaker, it had adjourned. Despite this we met, MPs representing constituencies in nearly every one of Zimbabwes 10 provinces. We were honoured that so many MPs travelled especially to see us and helped make our visit so useful.
Takalani Prince Matibe, MP for Chegutu West, and his agent Admire Mapasure, gave us a fascinating tour of his constituency. He took us to see the new Borden Primary School for which he raised funds together with local people.
We also saw the thriving new market he has helped build in Chegutu town, where farmers from the district can sell their produce. The economy in Chegutu was very badly hit when a large cotton ginnery, the major employer in the town, closed with the loss of thousands of jobs. Driving through the district I saw vast swathes of commercial farming land still lying uncultivated and returning to bush. Only a few small pockets of productive agriculture remain.
We saw life in urban Zimbabwe when Paul Madzore showed us round his Glenview constituency on the south-eastern outskirts of Harare. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and pupils of Glenview No. 1 High School. Their O & A Level exam results were exceptionally good and Colvile suggested we might send our Education Minister to visit to see what lessons we in the UK need to learn from the headmaster there.
Unfortunately the text books paid for by taxpayers in the UK and donated to Zimbabwe schools via the education ministry in Harare had not yet arrived at either of the two schools we visited. The good manners and smart uniforms of the pupils was a delight to see. What a shame that for so many their hard work and dedication will not be rewarded by jobs when they finish their education.
The economic progress that has been made since Tendai Biti became Minister of Finance is encouraging and it was such a change from my previous visits to see well stocked shops. But until there is rule of law, an end to violence and intimidation and free and fair elections under a new constitution, investment will be scarce.
Members of parliament and of the government bear a huge responsibility and it is shocking that so many are being arrested on trivial pretexts. The lives of millions of Zimbabweans suffer when Ministers and MPs are diverted from the vital work of national recovery and rebuilding the infrastructure of the country.
I am really pleased to see again the encouraging unity of purpose that binds together the courageous men and women struggling to bring reform and progress to Zimbabwe – whether they are active in politics or in civil society. It was a pleasure to be in Zimbabwe with colleagues from the UK Parliament and to see how we can work in partnership with elected representatives in Zimbabwe to make life better for the young people we met.
As current events around the world remind us of the strength of people-power it was good to see once again the brave determination of so many brave Zimbabweans. – Kate Hoey is the Labour Party MP for Vauxhall.
Post published in: News
this is a campaign for the MDC M thinly veiled as appreciation for all MPs. why was there no comment on the work being done by ZANU PF MPs for instance. the fact that pupils are still passing before UK donated text books says something good about the past. did anyone ever tell you about the corruption cutting across the political divide and what you can do to facilitate its demise if ever MDC (whatever suffix) comes to power.