The Sunday News
Nelson Nhlalo Masukume in Bubi
COMMUNITIES in Bubi District in Matabeleland North Province, have been urged not to panic in the face of food scarcity as the Government has started mobilising its social services machinery to ensure adequate supplies of food to mitigate the effects of drought.
Addressing hundreds of Zanu-PF supporters gathered at Mbembeswana Primary School, Ward Three last Wednesday, the Member of Parliament for Bubi, Cde Simelisizwe Sibanda, said villagers were not supposed to panic as the Government was aware of the food situation and was doing everything to ensure they do not starve.
“We are aware that a number of households in this constituency are faced with food insufficiency, as a result of the drought that the country is experiencing. Efforts are being put in place by the Government under the Social Services Department, to mobilise sufficient food supplies, to mitigate the effects of drought and President Mnangagwa has assured the nation that no-one is going to die of hunger,” said Cde Sibanda.
It was also at the meeting that the construction of a secondary school in the constituency was discussed with Cde Sibanda, who is also the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, urging villagers to come together and ensure the school project was a success.
“We have a secondary school whose construction is long overdue. The Government has approved its physical plan and the authority was granted in 2017. This is our project and we should come together as a community and ensure its fruition,” he said.
Cde Sibanda, said its completion was going to reduce the long and painful distances travelled by learners to Majiji and Siganda Secondary schools. He said long distances sometimes in unfavourable weather conditions and peer pressure forced a number of learners to drop out of school, which was impacting negatively on the development of the area.
“That is what President Mnangagwa means when he says, ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo,’ we should play a part in the development of our areas,” he said.
Cde Sibanda also called on various companies operating in the district to chip in and assist as part of their corporate social responsibility, where they would be ploughing back to the community. He said he would also lobby for support from various mining companies and farmers in the district adding that he wished to see progress before the end of May.
Addressing the same gathering, Zanu-PF district chairman Cde Joseph Donga, echoed Cde Sibanda’s sentiments on the need for the communities to pull in the same direction in as far as development was concerned. He said the school construction project had faced many false starts and it was high time something concrete was done.
Ward Three Councillor, Cde Eden Ncube, took a swipe at corrupt activities in the district saying there were people, who were illegally settling people in the ward and warned that they were going to be dealt with by the law. He also took aim at known donkey rustlers, saying their days were numbered, following reports that a number of farmers were losing donkeys to well-knitted syndicates operating in the area at night.
