By Leonard Koni.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) –
Women are known to be pillars of strength and working very hard to look after their children and improving the economic status qou of a country through income generating projects and programmes such as market gardening, poultry projects and farming just to mention a few.
We have seen the number of women in politics rising remarkably as women refuse to take a back seat in today’s running of the government.
Yesterday it was a busy day for aspiring House of Assembly Zvimba North Hon Marian Chombo of National People’s Party led by President Joyce Mujuru.
She had a team of her poll observers in Banket who were receiving training on Biometric Voters Registration. Hon Marian Chombo is working very hard in her constituency ahead of 2018 election watershed and she had drawn out a plan to kick start her campaigning in earnest in order to wrestle out the seat from the ruling party Zanu PF. It is not the first time that she had tried to win this parliamentary seat. She once contested it as an Independent candidate before and up to now she still has that hope of clinching it and hasn’t given up the fighting.
She would like to make sure that Zvimba North Constituency is restored to it’s glory and to reduce the rate of unemployed youths in Banket who spend much of their time drinking beer and smoking dagga to avoid boredom. Raffingora another farming community and other surrounding areas have been visited by Hon Marian Chombo’s team.
There is a poor road network connecting to Raffingora from Banket which is making it difficult for newly resettled farmers to transport their produce to the market. The road has not been repaired for a long time and it needs facelifting.
Local resettled farmers have been complaining that lack of road maintanance has been disrupting the speedy distribution of their products and in turn increased the cost of maintaining their trucks, their frustration is not exceptional.
Poorer communities also complained about the same main roads which made it difficult for the communities to access services like schools, work and business opportunities and nearby growth points.
Hon Marian Chombo bemoaned of the Zimbabwe Alloy and Steel Company “ZIMASCO” which used to employ about 60% of the population in Mutorashanga.
The company closed and left a huge number of people unemployed. The residents were evicted from the company houses and have resorted to building squatter camps nearby posing a health hazard to the community.
The number of women in politics is rising in Zimbabwe and this has just breathed new fresh air to the country’s political arena which has been predominantly dominated by male counterparts. There are many aspiring female member of parliament and some are coming in as independent candidates such as Fadzayi Mahere, Linda Masarira and others.
Zimbabwe is making strides to increase the numbers of women in parliament. Female politicians are unlikely to abscond important parliamentary duties and are unlikely to be absent from work than men which make them have an edge on men when it comes to voting them into power.
However these women are encouraged to work very hard and desist from the tendency of looking at each other down and pulling her down There is need to strike a balance between serving the communities and advancing their personal egos. They should strive to lay down bankable ideas as they are the most trustworthy people who can change the current political discourse in the country. Men have dismally failed.
Lack of political dialogue is one of the most pulling factor facing our politics today and there is need to rectify this problem before it cuts the umblical cord. Women must be heard in parliament and must highlight their concerns without men dictating the pace.
Women must address their issues without much constitutional impediments. Women are the backbone of any economic function of a country and would like to see these economic policies being implemented without any delay.
Women must be brave enough to cut all the barriers preventing them from success and stop from being cry babies. The role of women in politics is not an issue that should be looked as of less value. This issue calls for solidarity which can be built through these disparate groups working together to put pressure on the government and male politicians to carry out their duties towards achieving the same goals designed for a beautiful destiny.
About Author
