Zanu-PF to the rescue

Lloyd Gumbo Herald Reporter
ZANU-PF legislator for Gokwe-Nembudziya Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena yesterday bailed out Gokwe North district chiefs and councillors including MDC-T representatives who were held up at a training centre in Darwendale over unpaid accommodation bills.

The 45 members, comprising 36 councillors (33 of Zanu-PF and three of MDC-T), two chiefs, five area committee members, district chief executive officer and district administrator were attending an induction workshop for councillors at Zimbabwe Institute of Public Administration and Management (Zipam) in Darwendale.

There was confusion between Government and Gokwe North district officials on who was supposed to pay the over US$7 000 accommodation and food bill for the three days they attended the workshop.

Government said it was the local authority’s responsibility to pay for accommodation while councillors said they had been made to believe that the United Nations Development Programme would foot the bill.

Addressing the councillors before settling the bill, Cde Wadyajena said Zanu-PF was a people’s party that did not discriminate even its opponents.

“I am paying for all the councillors from Gokwe North who came here for the workshop regardless of the fact that some of you are MDC-T councillors,” he said. “As Zanu-PF we do not discriminate. We want to demonstrate to you that our party is there for the people. We want to make sure that there will be no MDC-T councillors in Gokwe North at the next elections.

We want all of them to defect to Zanu-PF because it is a party that has policies that do not discriminate.
“If (MDC-T leader Mr Morgan) Tsvangirai cared about you, he would have paid for you, his councillors. But he has not. This is a wakeup call for you to see which party has people at heart.”

Cde Wadyajena said the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West at the behest of MDC-T paralysed local authorities’ performance in service delivery.

Chief Simuchemba hailed Cde Wadyajena for his generosity saying he was the first to show such a gesture to the people of Gokwe North.
“We pray that God and our ancestors bless you for the good work. We also pray that God gives you strength to do developmental projects in our area,” said Chief Simuchemba.

MDC-T councillors Shu Shine Siamandanda (Ward Simchembu 1), Moses Musvaba (Ward Nenyuka A) and Mazhambe Sibanda (Simchembo 3) thanked Cde Wadyajena saying he had proved that he was a national leader who did not discriminate.

They had several jovial engagements with Cde Wadyajena throughout the meeting. Gokwe North district CEO, Mr Shingirayi Tigere said they were under the impression that UNDP would cater for all logistics.

“We only found out that they (UNDP) were not paying when we arrived. As a local authority we obviously had challenges to foot the bill.