Chibaya was the first opposition legislator for Mkoba after winning in 2000 general elections. His role in the community has united people from across the political divide.
“The MP has always had time to listen to people’s grievances and act upon them, even in a personal capacity,” said Ward 8 Councillor Trust Chineni.
Others praised him for his presence in the local area.
“The MP is visible and approachable in the constituency. We will always remember him for building the first community library in the suburb,” said Arnold Mponda, a fire-fighter in the city and resident of Mkoba.
The library became an asset to the people of Mkoba and was the second of such facilities to be built after the Gweru Memorial Library in 1898.
Chibaya’s work among the elderly, orphaned and other vulnerable people groups has made an impact on the local people. However, some residents feel that he needs to focus more on preaching the gospel of democracy in order to equip his constituents to vote in upcoming elections.
Onwell Marasha, a local man, said that Chibaya was an ideal government representative who was present in the community, not too old and in touch with current issues that the local people are grappling with.
“My ideal government representative is a person who resides in their constituency or ward,” Marasha said.
Chibaya believes that his constituents need to better understand the limitations of his role as MP. “People have lots of expectations of the local MP which are not consistent with our constitutional mandate,” he said. “Our task as MPs is to perform legislative, oversight and representative roles. However, there is a lack of awareness programmes to educate people about this.”
The MP went on to say that people approached him for help with everything from school fees to funds for self-help projects.
“Institutions like schools and clinics also expect me to provide money for their day to day life,” said Chibaya.
“Civil society and the government should take on that role.”
As a National Executive member of the MDC-T, the Mkoba power broker promised to continue fighting for clean water, health care and the other needs of his constituents.
Post published in: News