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Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has been hailed as a champion of development by people of Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency and Midlands Province at large.
President Mnangagwa announced First Lady’s immediate stepping down as legislator for the constituency on Saturday during a rally at Mvuma Stadium. The announcement that was met with a deafening silence.
Many people looked downcast as the First Lady shed tears as she bed farewell to the people she had worked with since March 2015. President Mnangagwa told the rally that the First Lady was now concentrating on her role as mother of the nation and not just a particular constituency.
“She said she could not be Amai Mnangagwa for Chirumanzu-Zibagwe, but that she should be the mother of the nation. Today she is in Mashonaland West, tomorrow Kariba, Nyanga playing her role as the First Lady,” he said.
“As your Member of Parliament, Amai Mnangagwa initiated a lot community development projects. There were no schools in this constituency or roads or bridges or footbridges and we worked together with Amai Mnangagwa to develop this area. Nutrition gardens, woman banks, clubs, a traditional home where we would eat traditional food. From the woman club each year I knew she would bring truckloads of groceries,” he said.
Midlands Provincial chairperson Cde Daniel Mackenzie Ncube said Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency was one of the most developed constituencies in the province as a result of the First Lady’s hard work.
“As you heard the President speaking, the First Lady brought woman and the youths together. Women formed clubs and started poultry, goat and cattle projects. Roads were rehabilitated, footbridges and bridges constructed and this is one of the most developed constituencies in the province,” he said. Chief Chirumhanzu said his area had lost a great leader and a visionary who had changed the livelihoods of the people in his area.
“I know we have lost a lot, but at the same time we should be grateful for the time we shared with her and the development she brought to this area. We will forever be grateful,” he said.
First Lady said Zanu-PF supporters should choose another candidate to replace her. In a by-election in March 2015, the First Lady retained the Chirumanzu-Zibagwe seat previously held by her husband, who also stepped down after being appointed as the country’s Vice President.
Online Reporter