Stanford Chiwanga

Senior Reporter

The Member of Parliament for Nkulumane, Thamsanqa Mahlangu, is allegedly failing to pay a debt of US$350 to Tazz Marketing, a small to medium enterprise that sells building material, after he guaranteed to pay for 1 000 bricks that his councillors took on credit to expedite the construction of classroom blocks of Mncumbatha Secondary School in Nkulumane 12.

Sunday News is in possession of a duplicate of the invoice that MP Mahlangu signed guaranteeing to pay the debt. The invoice dated 28 April has his name and phone number.

Attempts to talk to MP Mahlangu were futile as his mobile number was unreachable.

According to Mr Tazviona Muchinezuro, MP Mahlangu has failed to honour the debt for a month now after he had approached him and literally begged to be given 2 000 bricks on credit for the purpose of speeding up the construction of classroom blocks of a school that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was scheduled to tour.

“MP Mahlangu came on a Tuesday to my office in person, accompanied by two councillors of his constituency. He told me that he had an emergency and needed bricks to finish the construction of classes of a school in Nkulumane 12 by Friday as Tsvangirai was going to tour the school. He told me that they had no money but would pay me in a few days' time. I was reluctant to give him the bricks but eventually I gave in.

"He assured me that he was an honourable man and said it would be bad for his office and reputation as an MP to fail to pay a debt he owed a member of his constituency.

We negotiated for some time and I finally relented but I refused to give him 2000 bricks. I said I would give him 1000. The next day he escorted the truck that came to collect the bricks. He was driving a silver Prado, again I sought assurance that I would be paid my money and he put my fears to rest,' said Mr Muchinezuro.

Mr Muchinezuro revealed that his decision to trust MP Mahlangu backfired on him as the former deputy minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment is failing to settle the debt he underwrote and is now ignoring his calls.

He said: "I have been making follow-ups almost every day and with each attempt to get my money I get more frustrated. At first he used to answer my calls and lie through his teeth that he was going to pay me the next day.

"At times he would refer me to other people and those people would refer me back to him. When he saw that I was not backing down he began ignoring my calls. Now whenever I call him his phone will be unreachable, I am guessing that he blacklisted my number."

Mr Muchinezuro also let slip that he was once an admirer of MP Mahlangu and MDC-T but had lost faith in the youthful MP and the party he represents.

"MP Mahlangu is not an honest man; he is a charlatan in sheep's clothing. I now have my reservations about him and I have lost trust in his party. If the MDC-T has the audacity to field an unscrupulous man as an MP then I am guessing that the party is not so innocent itself," said Mr Muchinezuro.