A NEW watchdog and multi-party social movement, Umalusi-Mufudzi, has been formed to make accountable all elected public officials and ensure that they deliver on the promises they made in the run-up to the July 30 elections as well as expose corruption.
BY SILAS NKALA
Umalusi-Mufudzi founding member Wellington Hadebe told Southern Eye that the organisation would seek to incorporate all losing candidates in council and parliamentary elections to work together for the development of their communities not as politicians, but as a united social movement.
“Umalusi-Mufudzi looks at the pre-election, election and post-election time. The organisation seeks to draw members from all political parties, especially candidates that lost the elections. We want to work together to monitor what the elected members do and fight corruption at all levels,” he said.
“We want transparency in government programmes from local level. We will be questioning how employment is done at local level, monitor and be involved in the adjudication of tender processes that are done in the locality to prevent corruption.”
Hadebe said they were advocating for the empowering of locals through job creation.
He said they had since written to leaders of main political parties, among them President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF and Nelson Chamisa (MDC Alliance), to allow their losing candidates to be part of the watchdog.
Hadebe said it had been the norm that Zimbabweans go into politics for self-enrichment, without considering the masses that vote for them.
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He said the 2018 elections saw the largest number of contestants, arguing many viewed politics as a shortcut to riches.
“It has also been seen that the elected people hold the masses at ransom by not fulfilling promises and hiding behind party structures for the five-year duration,” Hadebe said.
“It has been seen that there is no way any President would come down to the communities to check if the reports being submitted are true.”
He alleged that some foreign investors come into the country with ulterior motives.
“Umalusi-Mufudzi shall ensure that the non-Zimbabweans keep to the promise signed with the Head of State and if they need to increase the scope of operations then they should quickly go back to the table and remit what they must,” Hadebe said.
He said the main thrust of the organisation was to track electoral promises and how they were being fulfilled, to be local auditors of progress and the voice of the people and will not allow time-wasting by irresponsible public and private office bearers, among others.
