Dzivaresekwa rues voting for Hungwe

By The NewsDay | Feb. 12, 2018 | 3 Min read

DzivarEsekwa, also known as DZ, is predominantly a working-class high-density suburb in western part of Harare.

By MUNESU NYAKUDYA

The constituency was pre-dominantly an MDC-T stronghold, but when the main opposition decided to stop contesting by-elections until there was a level playing field, Zanu PF MP Omega Hungwe took over the constituency after former MP Solomon Madzore was fired from the party and Parliament in March 2015 when he crossed over to a faction affiliated to Tendai Biti. DZ constitutes of Dzivaresekwa 1, 2, 3, 4 and Dzivaresekwa Extension.

Problems in the constituency that the MP could raise in Parliament:

lDouble allocation of stands (Local Government minister)

lBurst sewer pipes (Local Government minister)

lDilapidated roads infrastructure (Local Government minister)

lInadequate operational space for SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises minister)

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lHigh rates of unemployment leading to drug abuse and theft (Labour minister).

lWater challenges (Local Government minister)

lElectricity challenges (Energy minister)

Performance of the MP in Parliament

Hungwe is one of the MPs that can be described as bench warmers in the National Assembly, as she has not contributed much since she was elected in 2015.

She might have clocked two years in Parliament, but that is not an excuse to be silent as MPs are voted to represent their constituencies and play their oversight role.

Hungwe sits in the Mines and Local Government Portfolio Committees.

What people in the constituency said about their MP

Telmore Mugombe

She gives back to the community. At one point, we heard that she approached council to patch potholes. She also approached Zesa Holdings to fix tower lights. At some point, there was also a power problem and we heard that she went to the authorities to get it fixed.

Liberty Tapera

I don’t even know who my MP is. I don’t think she is of any relevance in our community. We actually know MPs of other constituencies better than ours because she doesn’t come back to us, and even during televised parliamentary debates she rarely speaks.

Naomi Shumba

We don’t know our MP. I have never heard of any meetings that she has called for. We want her to come and speak to us so that we tell her our problems. We are suffering from problems such as burst sewers. We want her to introduce projects for women in the constituency so that they can have better lives.

Moses Moyo

Hungwe stays in our area, but to be honest I cannot point out anything that she has done. If she has done anything at all, then it means I didn’t hear about it, or it was something very small that is not worth mentioning.

Trust Gutu

She doesn’t come to us to see or even to know what we need, but she is our MP. We, as youths, are facing a lot of hardships that she doesn’t even know because she doesn’t bother. Hungwe is always doing her own things. I think in the next election process we need someone who is young and energetic. We regret voting for her.

MP’s response

The main challenge in my constituency is the double allocation of stands. City council double-allocated stands and it’s causing a lot of rivalry among DZ residents.

The problem has led to massive evictions of residents, and so we are saying that those that have already built their houses can continue to stay where they are, while those who haven’t can be allocated new stands.

The other challenge is that there is a stream that children have to cross when going to school, we have asked the city council to build a bridge because it endangers pupils’ lives.

When I receive Constituency Development Funds allocation, I am going to prioritise the development of schools, given that we now have a new curriculum. I want to make sure that we have adequate computers for schools.

I also want to build shades for small and medium enterprises, so that they can have a proper places to operate from. I will engage the constituents to find out the projects that they want prioritised.