But villagers in the vast districts of Chirumanzu and Zibagwe could not care less about tiled floors as they are desperate for clean water, sanitation, food, basic infrastructure and self-help income projects that can alleviate their abject poverty.
“My first priority is to make sure that all the people live in homesteads with tiles. We want them to have lifestyles similar to their counterparts in towns and cities. Even the women who head families should live in tiled huts. I will strive to ensure that such developments are achieved in the constituency,” said Auxilia Mnangagwa in an interview with The Zimbabwean after attending a Zanu (PF) provincial coordinating meeting in the city recently.
She could not specify how she would source the funds to fulfil her ambition in the province’s biggest constituency, which has close to 40,000 registered voters. The VP’s wife will face four opponents – Munashe Mutodza (NCA), Abigail Rumbidzai Musambasa (Transform Zimbabwe), Gadzamoyo Dehwa (Good People’s Movement) and Chawaona Wilbroad Kanoti (an Independent). The MDC formations pulled out of the race protesting non-fulfilment of key electoral reforms – a development that may give Auxilia an upper hand.
The Mnangagwa family’s soft-spot for flashy houses is seen in their 24-bedroomed ‘heaven -on- earth’ structure perched on a hill top in the secluded Dambudzo area near Lundi primary school on the outskirts of Zvishavane. The Mugabe family’s mansion in Harare is only one bedroom greater.
The majority of people in the Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency are struggling to make ends meet after having been relocated during the controversial land reform exercise. They live in huts and depend on subsistence farming to earn a living.
Water and sanitation are their biggest problem as no developmental work has been done since they were resettled. Others who have tried chrome mining for quick money are agitating for help to establish self-help projects after failing to make it into the industry due to lack of equipment.
“Zanu (PF) has no commitment to assist in people’s real problems. The people there have always been subjected to intimidation – being threatened that they will lose their land if they disagree with Zanu (PF). So it is not surprising that Auxilia Mnangagwa has chosen to prioritise what the people least expected because she knows there will never be any opposition,” said Ishmael Jeko, the MDC-T’s 2013 parliamentary candidate for the constituency.
Post published in: News