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Mathema, saying it is not true that the region is the most underdeveloped and marginalised in the country.
Ambassador Mathema was responding to the MDC leader, Professor Welshman Ncube, who in an interview with our Bulawayo Bureau said Government should act decisively to stop the marginalisation of
Matabeleland before people from the region lose patience. Prof Ncube said although people from Matabeleland were against the creation of a separate State advocated for by the Matabeleland Liberation Front (MLF), the continued preferential treatment given to other regions of the country could make them change their minds. Ambassador Mathema said leaders in the region should not cry foul because they were the ones who were actually failing their constituencies. He said a majority of political leaders from Matabeleland were not even informed about the level of development in other parts of the country.
Ambassador Mathema said the talk about the scores of companies relocating to Harare was “nonsense and stupid” because that was being driven by imperialists as only a “few subsidiaries” of companies had left the city.
CAIN MATHEMA
“Leaders from Matabeleland should not complain because none of them have figures that other parts of the country are better than our region. Why cry foul when they are the ones at the centre of things as some of them are Cabinet Ministers?”
He said the leadership in the region was being misled by regionalism and acting like district leaders.
“Maybe the leaders in Matabeleland are not good enough. If indeed they are in the Cabinet, why cry foul about lack of development in Matabeleland? They should not talk about Matabeleland not developing but focus on national projects because they are national leaders. They should not act like district leaders who are only concerned about regionalism,” he said.
Ambassador Mathema said instead the Matabeleland leadership should ask themselves on what they have done for the region before pointing fingers at other people. He accused those blaming the Government of being used by imperialists whom he said were bent on dividing Zimbabweans on tribal lines.
“We should not always cry because that is misleading people. Those who complain are the ones who brought sanctions and are being used by the West so that people from Matabeleland would wage a war against those from Mashonaland over closure of industries. Any leader who says Matabeleland is less developed is used by imperialists and that in nonsensical,” said Ambassador Mathema.
Turning to the relocation and closure of factories in Bulawayo, Ambassador Mathema said the leadership in the region was ill -informed on what was happening as they were blaming people from Mashonaland for the relocation. He said instead of complaining, the leaders should lead local people and buy the factories for empowerment.
“Why not buy these factories than to continue crying? Why are they blaming Shona people when whites own these companies? That is being tribal and once we start fighting among ourselves, the imperialists will start looting from our companies,” said Ambassador Mathema.
He said various projects like the Gwayi Shangani Dam, Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project and Ekusileni Hospital in the region were either lying idle or not completed because of incompetence of the Matabeleland leadership.
“If you move around the country, you will find there are areas that are far less developed than Matabeleland. There is a danger of waging a tribal war out of nothing if we are not careful,” said Ambassador Mathema.
Online Reporter