Vusumuzi Dube
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce who is also the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South constituency, Cde Raj Modi, has seen the past five years of his service in both offices proving that he is not only a businessman par excellence but a beacon for philanthropy who exhibited the true ideology of Zanu-PF.
This has been witnessed through his compendium of achievements over the past five years as the sole Zanu-PF Member of Parliament in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province having been voted in 2018. Born on 4 February 1959 in Gujarat, India, Rajesh Kumar Indukant Modi graduated from South Gujarat University and briefly worked for an electricity board till 1981. He came to Zimbabwe in 1982 when he was still single which marked the genesis of his rags to riches story.
“I got married here in Zimbabwe. I came with two pairs of clothes and 50 dollars in my pocket. I bought my air ticket through our Indian community and I paid for it in installments when I was now in Zimbabwe. I got a job at a clothing shop and worked for eight months. I was doing everything like mopping the floor and cleaning the shop.
“After eight months my wife was pregnant and we got into a crisis that needed $30. We did not have that money so I approached my boss and told him my situation.
“He refused to give me the money and told me I should look for another job if I want. I left and looked for another job where I was paid $250 against $150 that my previous employer was paying me. I worked for Mr Naran for eight years and that’s how I learnt supermarket business,” said Cde Modi.
That marked the turning point for Cde Modi who then ventured into business starting with a small tuck-shop that employed two people. Addressing business people in Gwanda recently, Cde Modi said:
“I have grown to be a businessman and employ more than 200 people in my supermarkets in Bulawayo and the other I just opened in Plumtree,” he said.
Following his election into parliament, Cde Modi intensified his philanthropic work that saw the emancipation of communities through skills capacitation and employment as well as development of infrastructure.Responding to questions from Sunday News Cde Modi highlighted his compendium of achievements over the past five years. He said, in an effort to improve the livelihoods of his community he had engaged in various skills and employment programmes.
“Through skills development we have managed to employ 300 youths while also assisting over 1 000 young people acquire various technical skills through the Modi Foundation and Youth Innovation Hub. We have also held more than 30 health expos and eye camps that have benefited more than 10 000 people over the past five years. We also assisted more than 300 school dropouts by offering them a chance to re-write their O’ Level at our skills development centre in Bellevue,” he said.
Deputy Minister Modi has also engaged in various infrastructure development work in the Bulawayo South Constituency.
“We assisted Masuku Primary School in Tshabalala who were building their ECD block by donating and installing a roof. We have recently completed building school toilets at Greenfield Primary School at a cost of US$30 000. We also installed new toilet systems and windows at Sidojiwe Flats,” he said.
Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Cde Modi played a key role in distributing masks and sanitizers. He also assisted in various health care programmes.
“During the Covid-19 lockdown we managed to assist underprivileged families with grocery hampers to assist them during that difficult time. We distributed masks and sanitizers to most of the households and police stations in Bulawayo with more than 15 000 people getting a pack of 50 surgical masks and a 250ml bottle of sanitizer.
“We have helped a number of people access medical attention in India. Cherish, a lady that was bitten by dogs in West Somerton is one of the examples.”
While the list might go on and on to exhibit Cde Modi as a champion of philanthropy he organised sports tournaments that were meant to promote a drug and substance abuse free environment as well as assisting the business community by partnering with the Government to renovate some shops that were vandalised during protests in January 2019. – @nyeve14
Online Reporter