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Constituency Spotlight

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MP Nelson Chamisa — Kuwadzana East Constituency (MDC-T) Kuwadzana is an urban constituency. The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Nelson Chamisa, is the youngest government minister and MP, who is very popular with many people, most of whom describe him as a hard worker. Both the youth and the elderly spoken to recently […]

MP Nelson Chamisa — Kuwadzana East Constituency (MDC-T) Kuwadzana is an urban constituency.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Nelson Chamisa, is the youngest government minister and MP, who is very popular with many people, most of whom describe him as a hard worker.

Both the youth and the elderly spoken to recently said Chamisa’s projects were visible and that he held meetings very often in the constituency.

What people said about their MP

Chamu Mugadza — I know our MP, Chamisa very well and I am definitely going to vote for him in the next elections because he spearheaded a lot of programmes for the youths. We have seen a lot of developmental projects taking place in Kuwadzana since Chamisa was voted MP and we support his efforts.

Mavis Moyo and Susan Chikmo (maize vendors) — We do not know who the MP for this area is because we are always roasting maize cobs and selling to our customers to make extra cash. We have never attended any meetings in the constituency and are not interested. What we only want is that city council people should not deny us the right to do business here because we need to fend for our families.

Rangai Chiwara — Our MP Chamisa has really tried to develop this area. Although I do not know some of the projects he has embarked on, I know he has done his best to ensure we have a library in this place. That is a very good project because our children need education and it would help in increasing knowledge. I am an old man now, but I know there are a lot of projects he has also done for the youths.

Kumbirai Shumba — The MP calls for regular meetings with people and has spearheaded a lot of youth projects. I think he has a lot of support and I will definitely vote for him in the next elections. The only problem I have with him is the started a library project, but it is incomplete. We want to know when this project will be completed.

Tendai Savanhu (not the Zanu PF official) — I know Chamisa very well and I have attended most of his meetings in the constituency. He is very focused and knows what he is doing. However, I think Zanu PF youths sometimes try to sabotage his projects. He started a very good library project, but I think there is shortage of funds. Most of the youths in this area know him because he visits very often.

Response by the MP The library project started in 1994 and when I became MP in 2003 it was still incomplete and the roof had collapsed.

Windows were stolen and the ablution system had been vandalised by Zanu PF youths. It was one of key points to work on. This project was supposed to be conducted by the city council but they did not have the funds to do so.

I was re-elected MP in 2008 and my focus was to look for money for the library and I secured $25 000. We had to re-do the whole architecture of the roof and we got tiling timber and pillars to remedy defects. The money was still not adequate to complete the whole project.

We have not yet used our Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation and so we secured another $25 000 and took only $10 000 from the CDF to complete the refurbishments.

The library is an issue at the bottom of my heart and we want it to be the best e-library in the country with laptops.

I always report back to my constituents and have constant meetings with them. I present monthly reports of what is happening in Parliament and in the inclusive government, as well as Budget issues.

There are those who are complaining about market places, but we often have problems with youth officers that are partisan and cause problems at flea markets.

I told them that I was an MP for everybody, not only MDC-T members and I set up youth clubs to empower all youths. For example, we have Chamisa Under-14 football club and one of the players from Kuwadzana actually went to AC Milan.

We also have the Chamisa Tournament and our playing grounds have been graded. We also have a widows forum for our women and it is very powerful.

I pay schools for 100 girl children. This is from my salary. We are delaying using CDF funds because from our discussions we said we wanted to secure resources for the library. We intend to have a revolving fund for women and give them small loans from it.

We also set up a hotline on Skype and Facebook where we communicate with people in the constituency. We also work with churches because I want the people of Kuwadzana to know God.

Gweru Urban Constituency — MP Roderick Rutsvara (MDC-T) The MP of this constituency is not known that much by people. However, some say he has done tremendous work for them. Residents of this constituency had this to say about their MP

Gerald Motsi, a South Downs resident, said: “This guy (Rutsvara) is too quiet. I have never heard about him. Maybe it is because I do not follow local politics that much, but if he was effective in his work I could have seen what he has done and known him. It shows he has to do more in his duty as an MP”

Lee, a student at a local university who lives in Ivene, said: “I do not know the MP. I do not care about knowing him because he has done nothing in our area. The roads are in a bad state while street lights were vandalised long back, thereby making it risky for us to be outdoors at night. There is nothing to talk about on him.”

Masiye Lukasa, a senior citizen of Gweru’s oldest suburb of Mtapa, had this to say: “I was born in Malawi, but grew up in this area and used to work for white people in the low-density areas before and after independence.

Our greatest concern in this area is that it is crime ridden and nothing is being done to tame our grandchildren into disciplined citizens.

There used to be Ndhlovu Youth Centre and Gafa Grounds where youths would spend much of their time doing various activities ranging from sports to theatre.

They would be deeply absorbed in these activities, but now they do not have anything to do. Even employment was not that scarce as is the case these days. Now community centres have been run down and our granddaughters risk falling into prostitution.”

Caroline Mutero, a housewife and Mambo resident, praised the MP for the work he has done in the area. “I know the MP, but it has been a while since I last attended a ward meeting.

I have not seen even our councillor for a while now. I understand the MP has donated desks and chairs to Sandara and St Michaels schools. That is commendable considering schools are struggling in their operations.”

Hama Kufakunesu, of Athlone, said: “I know Rutsvara mostly as a prominent businessman, but his work as an MP is not visible. Maybe he will do something in the near future.”

Response by MP There are a lot of projects I have been conducting in my constituency. About three weeks ago I donated a generator and blankets to Mtapa Isolation Clinic.

During that time I also donated two computers at Sandara Primary School and installed a 5 000-litre tank there. I also repaired a borehole at that school.

I have donated 100 desks to St Michaels Primary and 30 benches to Riverside Primary. To Lundi Park Primary I have donated 200 chairs and all these are recent projects.

I am building a police post and community hall with a full gym set in Ivene. The same is also being done in Greenvale and once this is finished we will hand over the place to the city council.

Funds permitting I will have more projects because the major challenge is lack of money. Cement is scarce and when we manage to get it, the prices are high. I intend to go out in communities consulting on how we can do things and asking for the way forward.