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| Priscilla Zindari Moyo at the meeting in Mwenezi |
… ‘women giving births on roadsides’
Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – Audiences who gathered for a post-budget feedback meeting at Neshuro Growth Point on April 30 demanded the concrete fulfillment of decade-old promises made to people of the districts by politicians.
Giving his views to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, one Marima, a war veteran from Mwenezi East Ward 13, urged parliamentarians to make follow ups on money availed to various provinces and districts of the country.
He said it has been more than a decade since they were promised that the TNP-Neshuro Road would be surfaced but nothing had materialised to date.
“It has been a decade since the promise was made and we were told that the project had been budgeted for. All high sounding-promises you are talking about in this budget should be implemented and as parliamentarians, you should make strict follow-ups on how the disbursed money is being used.
“If you do not make follow-ups the electorate would definitely come to realise that you were only voted for to make your own money and acquire your personal assets at the expense of the suffering majority,” said Marima.
Another resident said since government claimed to have allocated funds for the tarring of the Rutenga – Bhuchwa and the TNP – Neshuro roads, there was need for legislators to furnish citizens with timeframes.
In a contribution during the meeting, Ward 13 Councillor Takura Mudavose lamented the poor infrastructure in the district where some places like Muchene, Goroni and Mwenezana do not have bridges at all.
He said this has seen many women giving birth by the road sides as they cannot reach health centres especially in the rainy seasons when the rivers are flooded.
Ordias Moyo from Mwenezi West decried resettled families’ difficulties in accessing health services in that remote part of the district.
“This committee should visit areas like Mateke and Sovelele so that they can appreciate the state of the roads there. There are no roads to talk about and road users are virtually doing roadworks on their own using their own bare hands.
“Worrisome too is the state of the health centres in the resettlement areas. Villagers walk distances of more than 30km in order to access health services and there are no ambulances in such areas,” said Moyo.
In her response over health concerns, former MDC-T vice president and propeortional representation Member of Parliament (MP) Thokozani Khupe said money meant for 200 ambulances was set aside.
She said legislators will work to ensure that each district gets at least two ambulances that will service some of the resettlement areas.
On her part, Mwenezi West MP Priscilla Zindari-Moyo said though some projects were halted owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development had already set aside money for the construction of roads and bridges across the country.
