Matthias Tongofa
Clever Taperamoyo
CHIVI – Some people in Chivi North have said they re-elected Matthias Tongofa as their Member of Parliament (MP) because he effectively represented them during his last tenure, and has worked hard to meet their expectations
Terrence Nhara of Taruvinga Village in Ward 5 said he was pleased that Tongofa, whom he credited for drilling boreholes, helping the elderly get medical attention and fencing gardens during his previous term, had won resoundingly.
“I am a first time voter and I voted for Tongofa since he is doing a wonderful job to improve the livelihoods of people in this area.
“We have a problem of water shortages here in Chivi so the MP has been actively assisting in the maintenance of boreholes and drilling of new ones in such wards as 4, 5 and 9,” said Nhara.
A villager from Ward 4 who did not want to be named said Tongofa deserved another term as he had done well convincing the electorate he was a better candidate than his strongest rival, Dickson Mapipi of MDC Alliance.
“The MDC Alliance candidate was not visible therefore people just voted for someone whom they knew better. Tongofa has always been in touch with communities,” said the villager.
Other villagers, however, said Tongofa unfairly benefited from the politicisation of social welfare food aid and voter intimidation.
“There was intimidation of voters here and that worked well for Tongofa. He was an absentee MP who rarely did anything meaningful since 2013. He promised to upgrade the Denge Irrigation Scheme and resurface the Madzivadondo – Takavarasha dusty road but all that did not happen,” said a female voter from Ward 9.local
