BM: What motivated you to join MDC-T?
SZ: It was the culmination of our struggle for democracy and good governance which we had failed for decades to see in Zanu (PF). The MDC-T represented all the aspirations I had – like universal suffrage, people’s rights and democracy in its entirety.
BM: Opponents within the party opposed to your candidature say you are divisive. They accuse you of forming a camp known as Vekumasowe, with the name coming from your religious sect. What is your comment?
SZ: The people will make the decision for me to stand or not. Basically I stand on party principles. I do not move an inch from the party values system. But I do not shy away from telling it as it is. So I may lose friends in the short term because of following party principles but I believe I will gain respect in the long run.
BM: So are you justifying the formation of the Vekumasowe camp, which is a rival to the Jatropha faction reportedly formed by the late Patrick Kombai?
SZ: I do not know the camps. What I know is that within a democratic sphere people differ. Our enemy is dictatorship and (President) Mugabe in particular. In order to dislodge him, we fight differently but we are all together as one. One who uses a spear might think that the other using an AK 47 rifle is not doing well. We all want a Zimbabwe without poverty.
BM: In 2008 you contested for the Chiundura parliamentary seat under the MDC-T ticket and lost to Zanu (PF)’s Kizitho Chivamba. This time you want to stand in Gweru. Did you sense another defeat and therefore chose to come to Gweru which is a stronghold of MDC-T?
SZ: The question should be why did you contest in Chiundura – because I have always been a Gweru person. I went to Chiundura in 2008 because the party was weaker there and I wanted to build it amongst the people of that area. Even if I lost then, the party is now stronger there and anyone who represents MDC-T will win. More importantly, four wards in Gweru invited me to come back and stand for the party. So I am still following the will of the party and its people since I am a servant of both.
BM: What do you think inspired that invitation, when Rodrick Rutsvara from your party is the sitting MP in the constituency?
SZ: I suspect that it was because of my pro-poor policies which I implemented when I was mayor of the city. You will remember that I am the one who initiated the Weekend Flea Markets idea in which entrepreneurs sell their wares in the city centre at weekends. Industry has collapsed so people may have considered me to come back and work on such things.
BM: You say your tenure as mayor might have resulted in the invitation but you are accused of mismanagement of council properties.
SZ: I inherited a council on its knees. Nobody will keep property when their children are dying with cholera. We sold land and disposed of houses to enable council employees to earn a living. The money was used in a good way – that is why we did not have cholera or dysentery in my time. That is why we became the cleanest city in the country. It had to be done. We were using modern thinking laced with traditional thinking. I can defend the decisions on disposing of properties. That is why there was never a strike by the employees. At that time 60% of our income was going to pay bank interest of previous debts. I employed three basic strategies – revenue enhancement, cost containment and citizen participation.
BM: Others say you failed to reign in corrupt councillors in the party. They question how you could be an effective MP. What is your comment?
SZ: People are calling me because the present MP failed to dissuade the corrupt councillors at town house. In government we have a clean record for dealing with corruption. We ran a lot of programmes to capacitate councillors. Statistically the number of rotten eggs was about 1.5% – so I have fared well.
BM: If you were to become the next MP for Gweru, what would you do for the people?
SZ: Gweru is rich in resources and industry potential. It’s the nerve centre of the country. It should therefore be the centre of production. Because people belong to different tribes there is tolerance.
There is no reason why Zimalloys should die when there are resources. No reason why Dairiboard can operate at less than 80% when we have cattle. No reason why people should be drinking milk in teaspoons instead of gallons. With all those strengths, where is Gweru at the moment? Poverty is everywhere.
I would look critically at what could be done to revive the industrial base of Gweru as the first thing. I have the experience because I was once the Vice President of the regional Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce. I am former president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and also president of the Ceramic Industry Association. I understand issues of industry. This is why we have grouped to become the Gweru Industrial Initiative with me as its leader – to advocate for government support. I am pleased that a lot of eminent people are supporting the initiative.
Beyond that I formed the Gweru Peace Trust for Development to look at ways of achieving peace here. It’s a platform to advocate for peace by weeding out bad attitudes. We formulated 15 peace circles in Gweru where about 10 people in every ward gather every week to point at hotspots and chart the way forward. I have done 5 training programmes in peace building and conflict transformation, where experts from universities and civic societies interfaced with community leaders.
I would also want to talk with council and use their facilities for sports and arts academies where we can develop talents in arts, craft, speech, poetry and natural things abundant in communities. This also builds peace.
Politics
Zvidzai joined politics at the age of 17 as he was “born to a political life.” In 1977 he spent three months in Bikita jail for organising people to meet freedom fighters. After Independence Zvidzai joined the Zimbabwe Unity Movement led by Edgar Tekere as an ordinary member. In 1994 he was among those who formed the Zimbabwe Integrated Party led by Professor Heneri Dzinotyiwei. He became Secretary for Information and Publicity.
He joined MDC-T at its formation. In 2001,he became the party’s secretary for Ward 3 in Gweru.
In 2003, Zvidzai was voted first MDC-T Executive Mayor of Gweru. The following year he became District Secretary for Gweru Branch. By virtue of being mayor, he automatically became a member of the party’s provincial executive. In 2006 he was elected National Executive Council member of the MDC-T and appointed Secretary for Local Government.
Last month Zvidzai was promoted to the post of Secretary for Elections in the party’s highest decision making body and will lead the secretariat and staff on election strategy for the forthcoming polls. He is also Deputy Local Government Minister.
Biography
Aged 52, Sessil Zvidzai was born in Bikita on September 12 1961. He did his primary education at Bikita Primary school. He proceeded to Slveira Mission where he completed secondary education. Between 1979 and 1980, Zvidzai did A Level at Fletcher High School in Gweru. In 1980 he joined other Zimbabweans at Gweru Teachers College voting for the first time after Independence.
Zvidzai then went to the University of Zimbabwe where he completed a degree in Chemistry and Bio Chemistry. Afterwards he acquired a diploma in Industrial Management from a UK based institution. He went on to acquire a certificate in Ceramic Technology from the Institution of Ceramic Materials based in Germany. Back home he did a Diploma in Marketing Management.
Post published in: News