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Vincent Gono, Features editor
FOR almost two decades, Bulawayo has been a painful thorn in the political flesh of Zanu-PF as the party has been yielding close to nothing in elections with all the seats pocketed mostly by the opposition MDC-T without breaking a drop of sweat.
It had become a no go area for the ruling party’s cadres as it became apparent that people were simply disinterested in voting for it leading to most senior Zanu-PF members choosing to stand in rural constituencies where they felt they had a chance.
However, due to conspiring factors on the political front, Zanu-PF managed six out of the 12 constituencies that Bulawayo has courtesy mainly of the by-elections caused by the expulsion of some opposition legislators who broke ranks with their leaders after a split of the party. It was an opportunity for Zanu-PF to reclaim its lost glory in the city and redeem some of the seats.
One of the constituencies won by the ruling party in Bulawayo was the Mpopoma-Pelandaba constituency in 2015 that was won by Cde Joseph Tshuma after the recalling of Mr Bhekithemba Nyathi by the MDC-T for working hand-in-glove with the then breakaway MDC Renewal Team that was led by Mr Tendai Biti. His constituency is spread over Wards 9 and Ward 13 which include Matshobana, Iminyela, Mabuthweni, Mpopoma and Pelandaba western suburbs.
Although there was an evident lack of development in many of these constituencies as in most urban centres, the people of Mpopoma–Pelandaba constituency are now walking with their heads up and chests out as the National Assembly Member has managed to put not only the constituency on the map but the whole of Bulawayo with development oriented debates in Parliament that have brought a lot of positive and timeous changes in the city.
Initiating debate in Parliament on developmental issues was something that was alien to legislators in Bulawayo as most of them always chose to set themselves on “voice mail” when they entered Parliament hence their names were never seen in the Parliamentary Hansard.
And unlike their rural counterparts that are expected to coordinate and champion development in their communities as per their promise when seeking office, urban legislators usually have less pressure when it comes to development as much of the work is done by the responsible local authorities. This, however, is not true for Cde Tshuma who has been pushing hard for the adoption of initiatives that better the lives of the people in his constituency.
And since there are no bridges, dip tanks and roads to construct, much of the energy in cities and towns is expended on making sure enough noise is made in Parliament so that service provision is top notch and to ensure people get employment.
Cde Tshuma has been doing just that and it has earned him a lot of praise from people in his constituency. He has been lauded for fearlessly speaking out on real issues that concerns the people of Bulawayo’s livelihoods in the process gaining both friends and foes in political circles. He said been in the forefront calling for residents of Mabuthweni to own houses which they have been occupying for decades.
“We are blessed to have an MP of his nature. If you get to his house in Pelandaba you can easily mistake his residence for one belonging to a popular faith healer or sangoma. There are always people who will have gone there with their problems and he will be attending to them. He does not turn away anyone but is always ready to give an ear. We have had MPs such as Mr Samuel Sandla Khumalo and Mr Bhekithemba Nyathi but they are no match to Cde Tshuma.
“Where in this country of so much political polarisation have you seen an MP who treats both his party and opposition supporters the same. We only thank God for giving to us such a blessing. If people do not vote for him, then they can only vote for Jesus. Vendors have been given a $200 revolving fund to boost their orders while his contribution at funerals cover all the basics including sometimes arrangements with funeral parlours,” said an elderly woman from Pelandaba, Ms Sibongile Ncube who added that they were into mushroom and detergent manufacturing projects courtesy of Cde Tshuma.
Another resident Mr Mncedisi Mpofu of Mabutweni said analogies between the two previous MDC-T MPs and Cde Tshuma always brought them anger. He said while the previous MPs seemed to be there only to get personal material things to cushion their lives as evidenced by a dip in their lifestyle after politics, Cde Tshuma was not after personal enrichment.
“Our anger and disappointment is that politics brought recognition and benefits to the two previous MPs at the expense of development and an improved lifestyle for everyone,” he said indicating that the same can’t be said for Cde Tshuma.
“His focus is not on amassing wealth for himself but to help others get a better life,” he said.
The point according to Mr Mpofu, was that the two previous MPs in his view, were not very successful individuals and lived frugally off their not so well paying jobs before politics and now lived miserable lives after politics spitted them out. Cde Tshuma said once voted into office, he removed his political jacket and put on a developmental one that knows no party or tribe.
He added that being in an urban constituency the only important thing that people look forward to be provided with was employment hence his continued push for the revival of the city’s firms particularly the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and the Cold Storage Company (CSC) as well as textile firms. He said with the effort that he had been putting, it would be naïve for the people not to vote for him in this year’s harmonised elections.
Cde Tshuma said apart from making a lot noise about what has been crippling development in Bulawayo, there was the development of a political cancer called bootlicking where leaders bootlick to the point of fearing to point out mistakes to safeguard positions.
He, however, said it was refreshing that the country’s political leadership enjoys constructive criticism aimed at making things right.
Cde Tshuma said although people were crying about marginalisation, much of it was self-inflicted marginalisation caused by a spineless political leadership failing to speak out on important issues affecting the region. He said leadership silence played a part on the economic failure of Matabeleland as a region.
“We have leaders in Matabeleland who cannot articulate the challenges faced by their people.” The House of Assembly Member has made noise about Mpilo Hospital’s cancer unit which has since started functioning and has spoken strongly about the opening of Ekusileni Medical Centre that was a brainchild of Dr Joshua Nkomo.
The hospital was completed more than 16 years ago but has not been fully functional since it closed its doors some years ago. At one time he asked if the hospital should be named after former President Mugabe for it to be recognised and opened.
“Now, I am asking myself if we should change the name of the hospital from Ekusileni and maybe call it R Mugabe Hospital so that they can open it because it is so painful Madam Speaker,” he said in Parliament. “If you look at industry in Bulawayo, it has closed down and most of our youths are now jobless. The recent dismissal of workers by companies has serious effects on the country and I urge the Executive and us as Parliament to work hard and find a solution to this.”
Cde Tshuma singled out the National Railways of Zimbabwe, saying its collapse had left many people destitute.
“If you look at what is happening to the National Railways of Zimbabwe, it really affects people from my constituency because that is where the majority used to work. I am particularly happy that there has been some movement in the positive direction and I hope things will ultimately turn for the better in terms of employment creation and rehiring of staff. You see when we represent people we must put the interests of our people ahead of our political jackets,” he said. Cde Tshuma said besides halting the closure of companies, government must act to restore energy availability as well as attend to the decaying health sector which issues he has been raising in Parliament. Some have hailed him as a fearless political giant in the making whose seat will be very difficult to be taken again by the opposition. Asked about Gukurahundi, Cde Tshuma said it was a painful phase of the people of Matabeleland and Midlands’s history but should not be commercialised for political expediency as was the case with some politicians and activists.
Online Reporter