‘Put aside party politics’

Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
BEITBRIDGE East legislator, Cde Albert Nguluvhe, has urged political leaders in the area to move away from partisan politics and redirect their energy towards promoting urban and rural development in the area.

He said it was very critical for politicians to work together and pull in one direction with a shared vision as the area has bigger problems than political egos.

The constituency (Beitbridge East) has seven Zanu-PF councillors under the rural district council and six others from the MDC Alliance under Beitbridge Municipality.

Cde Nguluvhe made the call during a familiarisation tour of Beitbridge District Hospital last Friday, where he was briefed on a number of challenges affecting operations at the institution.

“The people of Beitbridge should benefit from all what we do. It’s high time we as community leaders put aside political differences and work towards uplifting the livelihoods of people,” he said.

“Yes we come from different political backgrounds, but our ultimate goal is to serve the community regardless of their political affiliation. We have heard some of the challenges here which call for integrated efforts. We should learn to work as a team and involve the people,” he said.

Cde Nguluvhe said it was critical for leaders and other development agencies to always involve and consult members of the community before rolling out projects.

He also implored corporates operating in Beitbridge to prioritise infrastructure development in the area as part of their respective social responsibility initiatives.

“I have started engaging stakeholders in different socio and economic sectors to ensure that we put our heads and resources together to confront our developmental issues.

“You will note that President Mnangagwa has already set the tone for us to embrace a culture of political tolerance and inclusivity and hence we must start from the lowest level of leadership,” said Cde Nguluvhe.

He said he was engaging different partners to promote irrigation farming and improvement of water and sanitation issues for both the constituency’s urban and rural population.

The newly appointed Mayor of Beitbridge, Councillor Morgan Ncube, recently called on residents and stakeholders to embrace each other, bury the political hatchet and create an environment ideal for investment to boost the town’s economic and infrastructure growth.

“I take this office at a time where we are confronted with a plethora of challenges that I do not need to overstress. It is against that background that I will immediately lead the council into a speedy process of getting things done, I assure you that it is no longer going to be business as usual,” said Clr Ncube.

“Firstly, we want to develop a shared strategic plan that outlines an inclusive vision for the municipality whose crafting must be deeply entrenched in the contributions of all stakeholders. In the interest of fighting all forms of corruption in our community, we are going to create several platforms where residents participate to enhance transparency.”