Perpetua Murungweni
Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC) Vice Chairperson Esta Mwapenya could say she was lucky to be win the post uncontested after the post of chairperson was hotly contested.
Mwapenya lost to the incumbent Jadiel Chikoore in the Zanu PF primaries but when the quota system was announced, she grabbed the opportunity, sailed through.
Mwapenya said she will use her post to influence development and empowerment of women across Masvingo District.
“As deputy chairperson, I am going to spearhead projects that uplift the lives of women in the district. I am going to coordinate rotating savings clubs (mukando) in order to financially empower women to start their own businesses because I have seen it working for others” said Mwapenya.
She said as a woman she was going to work towards improvement of maternity homes across the district saying it remained a challenge for women who have to travel long distances to access maternity care
“In the course of my duty I am going to work towards the improvement of maternity welfare by making sure that women shall not pay but receive maternity services for free. These services should also be provided for free because most women cannot afford even the amount required to register pregnancies.
“I am also going to work towards construction of more maternity wards in the already established clinics,” said Mwapenya.
She also talked about the need for holding more drug and substance awareness campaigns in order to reduce the burden on parents whose children are into drug abuse.
“In as much as drug and substance awareness campaigns are being held all over the nation, I am going to make sure that I organize more of these campaigns in the district because Masvingo is largely rural so acces to information is limited that is why drug abuse is still high.
“Mothers are suffering from trauma and high blood pressure watching the future of their children being destroyed by drug abuse,” said Mwapenya
She also talked about her journey in politics saying it wasn’t easy considering that she is a woman.
“It’s not easy for a women to campaign and win, during my political journey I faced a number of challenges, and it was difficult to balance the domestic chores, wifely duties, motherly duties, profession and campaigning. As a wife I could not just go out and come home late and I could not also just leave the house without making sure that there is enough food for the family.
“I thank the President for implementing local authority women’s quota because it reduces pressure and the burden of campaigning resources on women,” said Mwapenya.
Mwapenya is a 53-year old wife and mother of two. She is a teacher by profession with Bachelor of Education Degree in sociology and has 21 years working experience.
