Kariba is a resort town and it is also full of wildlife. Some of the people in rural Kariba are resettled in the middle of wildlife and experience problems with their crops due to monkeys.
By KUDZAI MUCHENJEKWA
Some of the monkeys at border posts also cause havoc, breaking into vehicles and stealing food.
One of the main attractions of Kariba is Kariba Dam.
People from Kariba earn their living from tobacco farming and fishing, with tiger fish and kapenta being a very lucrative business. Problems in the constituency that the MP, Isaac Mackenzie (Zanu PF) could highlight in the Parliament
lWater issues – (Environment and Water ministry)
lSewage – (Local Government ministry)
lHigh unemployment rate – (Labour ministry)
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lMonkey problems at border posts – (Home Affairs ministry)
lPayment of pensions for pensioners – (Labour ministry)
Performance of the MP in Parliament
Mackenzie has contributed to debate in the National Assembly on Kariba as a tourist destination and also the issue of lack of Tonga-speaking teachers in the constituency. However, the MP needs to be more vocal to be more visibility.
He can do better in terms of his contributions, as he understands Parliamentary procedure.
What people in Kariba said about their MP
Tinashe Kadito
I have never seen the MP. We only hear that he visits places like Nyamhunga, but we have not seen him. We wish that in Parliament the MP must raise issues of problems in the community, when it comes to water. We end up using unprotected water sources like rivers.
Margret Kadiwo
We have only seen the MP once during campaigns and maybe this is because we are now getting closer to elections. During his five-year term, I personally did not even know, who was the Kariba MP.
Martin Masvodi
I know the MP and feel proud of him for advocating for teachers, who can speak the Tonga and Ndebele languages in this area. We are having problems with teachers, who only speak Shona, but are deployed in Kariba and they find it hard to teach our children.
Bernard Katsiyo
I know the MP. I think even though he faces challenges in developing the constituency, he is trying. He visits people, but I think it is not possible that he can visit everyone.
MP’s response
Kariba is a big constituency and I can tell you that, as the MP, I am doing my best to develop the constituency and ensure that every person regardless of age is well taken care of, though we might not be able to get to everyone.
When it comes to the issue of unemployment, it is not affecting the youth only, but everyone. I started some projects for youth in Kariba, which include fishing and a night club, which would see the young people operating, but they all flopped. This is when I realised that our youth need to be trained on how to manage funds and to run projects, so that when a project is given to them it does not flop.
Monkeys have been a serious problem. But as you all know, Kariba is an area full of animals and we cannot run away from it. However, we have approached Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and they are in a process of coming up with a solution to this problem.
As the MP for Kariba, I can assure you that my goal is to make sure that everyone in my constituency benefits from the government. We got Constituency Development Funds (CDF) and I decided to use a different approach, which would see everyone benefitting and developing the constituency. I have realised that if we carry out projects that generate income, most people, who benefit are the ones in my party because they are the ones that come when we call for meetings.
We have started building a water tank at Kasisa Clinic and we have already installed pipes. This will benefit the whole community. We have also embarked on a project, where we are constructing blocks in schools such as Chalala, Mayovhe, Nabalende, Negende and Mamvura Machena Secondary School, just to mention a few.
This all has been done through the CDF allocations we received. We are not stopping, but we are going forward in developing our constituency and also giving our people a better life.
