Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Zanu-PF candidate for Pelandaba-Tshabalala in the forthcoming by-election, Cde Joseph “Joe” Tshuma has encouraged the electorate from his constituency to shun protest voting and vote for socio-economic transformation that is brought through his party’s empowerment drive.
Cde Tshuma who is a former member of the National Assembly for the Mpopoma-Pelandaba will on 3 February square off with Citizens Coalition for Change double candidates Moreblessing Tembo and Gift Ostallos Siziba as well as Democratic Opposition Party’s Abraham Nkomo.
Cde Tshuma said he was launching his campaign with the sole objective of conscientising the urban electorate on the reality that Zanu-PF was developing the country and enlightening them on “a very worrying” general belief among them that the ruling party is the author of economic challenges that are faced by the country.
“This is going to be a very short campaign and it is now less than a month. Our basic approach is to talk to people about the reality and the reality is that Zanu-PF has always been delivering. If you look at all the constituencies where it has won, especially rural constituencies, they take care of their own people and make sure things are progressing. Our members of Parliament go there to discuss development unlike the opposition which goes to Parliament to heckle, sing, make noise and get chucked out of Parliament, waste tax payers time and money and nothing comes out of that.
“I am going around simply conscientising people that for a change let us vote for development and not have a protest vote. What we have in Bulawayo and other urban constituencies is that people do protest voting and that kind of mentality is the same reason why they would bemoan lack of development because they would have put someone without capacity. It’s time to vote for capacity, it’s time to vote for development and not have a protest vote,” said Cde Tshuma.
He said there was no party that would do things to get voted out of power, which was why Zanu PF was doing things properly, coming up with policies that promote development.
“Our problems in Zimbabwe are a creation of the western powers trying to make sure that the land reform fails. They made our economy scream, they made our economy fail. No party wants its citizenry to suffer because in that way you will be voting yourself out of power. People might want to deny the issue of sanctions, that is a very existential issue, sanctions are there and they are real, we have seen companies that have been affected by sanctions, companies that have got nothing to do with politics,” said Cde Tshuma.
He said what gives him leverage over other candidates was the fact that he had been to Parliament before and knows how business in Parliament should be conducted. He said during his period in 2015, he pushed for a lot of developments that were witnessed in Bulawayo.
“When I went into Parliament through a by-election in 2015, within those three short years I managed to pull through some development. I remember the cancer machine at Mpilo Hospital, I am the one who pushed for it. I also pushed for Ekusileni Hospital to be operational and will continue to be vocal about it. During that time, we experienced drought and I advocated for distribution of maize in urban areas,” said Cde Tshuma.
He said what drove him to stand was the realisation that most members of Parliament who have been elected from Bulawayo particularly in the opposition do not do justice to the issues affecting Bulawayo. @nyeve14
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter