Nevanji Munyaradzi Chiondegwa
When President Mnangagwa said he will pursue development, immediately after his swearing in, some thought it was regular political speak.
However, time has exonerate him as the country is seeing the official launch of complete projects on a weekly basis.
Naysayers who at first cast aspersions at the process are now shifting goalposts, intimidated by the regular launches, they have decided to try and shame the President for officiating launch events.
In a typical, ‘no project is too small or too big’, President Mnangagwa was invited to commission Kudzanayi Bus Terminus by Gweru City Council.
The iconic Gweru’s long distance bus terminus Kudzanayi Bus Terminus was commissioned by President ED Mnangagwa after undergoing renovations to world class standards by Bentach, a private company, which now operates the Terminus.
It now joins the rank and file of Roadport in Harare, Lusaka Terminus and Park Station in Johannesburg among others as world-class Bus terminii in the region.
However, that is of not of much interest.
What interests this writer is the myth that there are projects too small for the President to be involved in or to commission or launch by certain sectors including political actors?
Apart from the fact that none of those trying to instruct the President on what he can or cannot launch have ever been a President, none of them have his job description that contains the dos and don’ts of his office.
Similarly, none can tell what projects he must commission besides projecting their snobbishness.
Firstly, a project may not sound important to one if they are not from a certain area and certainly will not mean much if you don’t ever use it directly.
I will cite here an example of Chombwe Water Scheme in Chivi of which the President was criticised for by the usual suspects.
I come from Chivi and it is a dry region naturally with low rainfall, deforestation and poor harvest.
Hunger and starvation even in good years nationally are a clear, present and consistent threat to many of us.
Chombwe Water Scheme is a hame changer to us in that area.
About 10000 households will benefit directly and indirectly from Chombwe. Irrigation, water for livestock, gardens for the local people, meaning a better diet and income from vegetable sales.
Constant supply of water to local schools and clinics and even a vocational training center have been established.
Therefore, from mocking President Mnangagwa for ‘opening a tap’ 10000 households benefit and many others will enjoy the benefits indirectly.
A diptank may not look very important to a boy selling bananas along Robert Mugabe Way in Harare or to a lady walking home in Shana Crescent in Zengeza.
These two would either be needing a job or lighting for their area.
That does not make a diptank a small project for the family in the rural areas who depend on their cattle to survive, cattle which could be killed by not being dipped!
So to that family in a ward with about 700 to 1000 households, a diptank is of paramount importance and those households out to anything between 3000 to 5000 people.
How do the needs of 5000 people amount to nothing?
We have President Mnangagwa promising that no area will be left behind.
While we are at it, let’s not get told what is and what is not important by arm chair critics who think that buying a luxury car for a guy who can afford his own car is more critical than paying outstanding salaries for election agents in 2018 is not a priority.
Kudzanayi Bus Terminus is the heart and heartbeat of Midlands.
The link between Masvingo, Matebeleland, Manicaland and Mashonaland Provinces. It is like the centre that brings all the people from every other place to the Midlands.
People from Manicaland and Mashonaland East bring their fruits and vegetables via public transport through Gweru-Mvuma Road to the Iconic KwaKombayi Market via Kudzanayi Bus Terminus, farmers in Gokwe, Nkayi and Lower Gweru bring their produce using Insukamini Road or via Vungwi Road or even Hunter’s Road to Gweru through Kudzanayi Bus Terminus.
Cross border travellers from Johannesburg, South Africa and Gaberone in Botswana or even Zambia and Lusaka use Kudzanayi Bus Terminus as a landing zone.
Gold prospectors from Shurugwi and Lower Gweru also come to Gweru to sale their gold via Kudzanayi Bus Terminus.
Long distance travellers to and from Harare to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls come through Kudzanayi Bus Terminus.
It is the half-way point between the cities of Harare and Bulawayo and a deserved break on the long arduous journey by road between the two cities.
Should then its Bus terminus not be equipped properly for the high influx of visitors?
A Bus terminus that can see on average 5000 visitors a day pass through it besides being a vending site foray a local small scale business person suddenly is not important?
Five thousand visitors daily translates to about 35 000 people in a week. How is that not important?
We heard from the snobs when President Mnangagwa commissioned Karanda Bridge linking the famous Karanda Hospital in Mashonaland Central with the Harare – Rushinga route via Kangaire that it was not an important bridge.
None of the people who said it was not important knew much about the area or what it entailed to link Karanda with the best route to it with the rest of the country.
They just sat on their keyboards and punched away.
Good thing is; while President Mnangagwa is a listening President, he will listen but not to his destruction.
That is why he will address the issues by saying; “no project is too small or too big, brick upon brick, stone upon stone, till we have met our goals.’
He has now made famous the phrase; ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’ which has become a hashtag and is trending on Twitter.
While Chamisa’s MDC-A Secretary General, the bumbling bafoon Charlton Hwende only saw a toilet at the commissioning of Kudzanayi Bus Terminus, the rest of us saw the resurgency of economic activity in the Midlands capital.
We saw an extra source of revenue for the local municipality, we saw healthier people and we saw prevention of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
Something that we think, Hwende who was legislator of Kuwadzana East should have seen.
We would have thought for someone from Harare with its stinking toilets, uncollected rubbish, burst sewers and all the cholera and typhoid outbreak, Hwende would have seen a possible solution. But, oh well, we were hoping for too much I guess.
So I pay little heed and attention to people who will tell me that a weir along Musavezi River for Rera, Chingovo, Chiondegwa, Muzvidziwa Ratisai and Chibhaira villages is less important than a streetlight in Kuwadzana.
I ignore people who want to tell the President must come and commission a Road linking Takavarasha, Chidhlamakono, Madzivadondo, Sukwe, Vuranda, Muroyi, Shiku and Mukotosi to the rest of the country.
Sure it’s not important to the critics but what about the 35 000 strong population of the area?
They also voted for ED and to them, it’s a chance to meet the man they put in that position!
It is a chance for more development in their area and an increase in the local GDP!
Snobs of course and critics from far away will not and would not want the rest to see and appreciate this. They only wish to surly such important developments down to their own feelings.
More importantly, some of these projects are funded by local resources through the devolution fund.
This means that communities choose that which they deem important and direct resources towards that.
If the community in Gweru decided that the terminus is very important, who are we to say it is not?
To us who know and appreciate the projects, we say: TrustED and EDworks!
FambaED
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