Ranga Mataire, Group Political Editor
For the first time in the history of independent Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Central is going to host celebrations to mark Independence Day. Initially scheduled for Shamva or Bindura, President Mnangagwa is said to have proposed Mt Darwin, a town located in Pfura Rural District Council to give the celebrations a communal national appeal. Zimpapers Group Political Editor, Ranga Mataire (R M) sat down with the Zanu-PF Mashonaland Central chairperson and Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Cde Kazembe Kazembe (KK) for an update on the preparations and what it means to the people of his province hosting the celebrations.
R M: Congratulations for winning the right to represent your party as the candidate for Mazowe West constituency in the coming elections. I think this gives you renewed vigour and confidence to campaign for yourself and the President. What is your comment on the whole election process and what’s in store for Mashonaland Central in the coming elections?
KK: Maybe I will start with my own constituency. For quite a while, I was uncontested as far as concerned and in fact even after the Politburo sat and CVs submitted, I came out as uncontested to the extent that the President himself congratulated me during Cabinet. That was on Tuesday and the following day we had our PCC meeting and I was given a list of the candidates by Cde Musanhu. He then said since I was uncontested, it was only fair that I chair the meeting, because I was not conflicted. So I chaired the whole meeting and was still uncontested only to be surprised to see a list on Thursday with a candidate for Mazowe West constituency. So I said, I will go for it because it’s our democratic culture in Zanu-PF. I emerged the winner with 12 000 votes while the other aspiring candidate had 600 votes. It was an overwhelming endorsement from the people since I had not even campaigned. It showed people have confidence in me. It’s unfortunate that voting started very late. I think I could have gotten more votes than the 12 000 that I got. The results show me that the party is alive, especially the fact that this was a mere primary election. If you also look at the number of the contestants, that again is a show of confidence. The interest in people wanting to represent their party in this province cannot be separated from the good work of the President and First Secretary of the party. He is pulling the party in the right direction and that is why everyone wants to be part of Zanu-PF.
R M: There was also a large number of young people coming on board as aspiring candidates. What do you think could have been the motivating factor?
KK: Yes, the interest was overwhelming even here in Mazowe. We had a lot of young people, I know of Tsungi, there was Mazungunye — a young lawyer based in Glendale, there is also Njanji and in Muzarabani we have a young engineer called Kabikira and in Mt Darwin South, there is Mupamhanga. So for us as a party it’s quite refreshing. You couldn’t have been faulted for thinking that young people will be more inclined to support the opposition but this is not the case. They have seen the light and they are all coming to the party. This is the right time to come to the party when the elders are still there to show the ropes.
In terms of the whole election process, I think it was largely peaceful. Of course, in an exercise of this nature you will always encounter some challenges.
R M: What challenges were presented to you as the chair of the province?
KK: I am aware that here in ward 24, there were allegations of violence with someone pulling out a gun.
If that is proven, then obviously the law will take its course. I forwarded all the queries to the provincial command centre. You will find complaints here and there and they will be looked at, at national level and see if there are any merits. But generally, the elections were peaceful.
R M: Cde Minister, Mashonaland Central province would be hosting this year’s independence celebration in Mt Darwin, a first since the country attained independence, what does this mean to you as the Zanu-PF chairperson of the province and as the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage?
KK: This is very exciting because for the first time we are going to have this national event in a kind of rural set up. We want to thank his Excellency President Mnangagwa for walking the talk. He promised us when he came up for the National Clean-Up campaign in Shamva last year that Mash Central will be next and also it speaks to his mantra when he says “no one, no place should be left behind.” He is now taking the celebrations to the people. We used to know that such national events only take place in Harare, traditionally and religiously. The celebrations were held in Bulawayo last year and this year its Mashonaland Central. They will be taking place in a typical rural area, which is quite historic because in terms of the liberation struggle, we had many people joining the struggle and as what the President said, the province bore the long brunt of the war given that the first shots to effectively start a guerilla war were fired at Altena Farm, just a few kilometres from Mt Darwin in Centenary. The President is honouring those cadres who perished in the struggle and the surviving ones. In other words, the President has Mashonaland Central close to his heart. It’s befitting in my view to come to Mt Darwin. I will be going there to assess preparations progress.
R M: Maybe you can highlight the preparations. How far have you gone as provinces in making preparations to make the event a memorable one?
KK: There is a State Occasions committee chaired by Cde July Moyo (Minister of Local Government and Public Works) but as a province we also have our own people from the party side. We have set up a committee, which is chaired by Dr Lazarus Dokora to give support to the Government because this is a State function. We are working together and are always on site. I was there last week; they have cleared the area.
Minister July Moyo
Initially, the celebrations were scheduled to be held in Bindura but the President said we have always held functions in Bindura, so let’s take the celebrations to the people, to the grassroots.
So they have cleared the area behind Mt Darwin High School. We will get an update this week but so far we are on course in terms of the preparations.
R M: Mt Darwin town is just a few kilometres from Altena Farm in Centenary, where the combatants first announced their physical presence in the country when they hit the farm on December 21,1972. Do you think the current generation of young people know and appreciate the significance of Altena Farm?
KK: In fact, to be frank with you I don’t think the majority of our youths know or appreciate the significance of the Altena Farm attack as a symbol of freedom fighters’ resilience and bravery. Also, very few young people have an appreciation of the liberation struggle. There is a need to educate them, for you to be able to plan for the future, you need to know where you came from. This is a gap that I think needs to be dealt with. But the party is doing well with the Chitepo School of Ideology. I am encouraging young people to attend the Chitepo School of Ideology. I will share my ideas with Cde Munyaradzi Machacha (principal of Chitepo School of Ideology) to say that education needs to be extended to schools so that they have an appreciation of our history. I think they should try and work with schools.
If you attend that course, you will have a changed mentality in the way you view our country. But if you don’t have an opportunity to go through that then you will always be in the dark.
R M: Would you support the idea that Altena Farm must be developed into a national site or monument where people can visit and learn about the importance of the farm in the execution of the liberation struggle?
KK: It’s already a national monument. It’s declared already. It’s just unfortunate that Rtd Brigadier Epmarcus Kanhanga passed on. He had already started working on that as the chair of the National Museums and Monuments board. They actually had a plan to go round and spruce up all those declared national monuments and Altena Farm is one of them. So he had plans to convert it into a proper national monument where people can go and visit and learn about the liberation struggle. That we are already working on as a ministry.
R M: As the province prepares to host this year’s commemorations, it is also time to take stock of the development initiatives undertaken by the Government and outstanding areas that still need attention. Kindly highlight the milestones achieved and the outstanding areas needing attention?
KK: I may not be able to list all the development initiatives undertaken by the Second Republic in the province but I am informed that more than 150 life-changing projects have been implemented and some are in various phases of completion.
Major projects that I may want to talk about include Semwa Dam. We used to talk about Semwa Dam but when His Excellency came into office, he made sure that the construction starts immediately and I am sure it’s now more than 50 percent in terms of progress. That Semwa Dam is going to change the lives of people in Mt Darwin. Not only in Mt Darwin but Rushinga included. I am reliably informed that once completed it will irrigate 12 000 hectares all the way from where it is to Mt Darwin town and everyone along will benefit from the irrigation. That means a lot in terms of economic development. You know you don’t need more than a hectare to be a millionaire. Think along those lines that we will be having potentially 12 000 millionaires. What it means is that over and above dealing with issues of food security, people will earn extra income the same way Pfumvudza is empowering people.
I am also told that the dam will be able to generate about 10 megawatts of electricity and being a dam it will naturally improve tourism and I see that happening in Rushinga.
Another development initiative being undertaken by the Second Republic is that of ensuring that the people of Mt Darwin have access to the border through Ndoda Road. As we speak right now the contractors are on site.
But most critical is the Kanyemba project. This is happening under the Second Republic and even before that there is Eureka Mine which was reopened by His Excellency the President, we also have the Shamva Gold Mine, which had been closed and now re-opened.
Coming back to Kanyemba, this is a game changer. I had the occasion to look at the Master Plan. Kanyemba is going to become bigger and better than Victoria Falls. It’s unique in the sense that it’s the confluence of three countries — it joins Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. That on its own will make it become a centre of attraction. Besides tourism, Kanyemba is going to become an agro-town. I am aware that the Ministry of Agriculture has already installed pivots and a solar plant. There are going to be a lot of developments. It will also provide a conduit to southern Africa’s hinterland. The vision that the President has is that tourists must be able to travel along the river from Victoria Falls to Kanyemba.
You may also be aware that the road to Kanyemba is under construction and the tarred road has now reached Mushumbi Pools from Mahuhwe and that will shorten the route to Zambia by close to 100km.
It means a lot of traffic will now be diverted to Kanyemba and that will also mean a lot of economic activities along the way. That’s why I say the Kanyemba project is a game changer. There is also oil in Muzarabani. All these economic activities have taken place under the Second Republic.
R M: But are people aware of these life-changing projects? If you look at social media, the overriding narrative is that it’s all talk and no action.
KK: If you read too much media you will probably think Kazembe for example has no people who support him. But come on the ground and you will be shocked. Social media is triggered by people who have an agenda to give a terrible narrative about the country. As a party and Government we are doing a lot in informing our people of these development projects and the benefits thereof.
R M: Honourable Minister, thank you for your time. We hope to have another conversation focusing on the milestones that have been achieved in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage particularly the issuance of national identity documents.