The
exchanges
emerged
during
a
Meet
Your
Candidates
debate
community
meeting
in
Nkulumane
where
aspiring
legislators
were
asked
to
say
out
what
they
had
done
and
what
they
could
realistically
do
for
Nkulumane.
The
debate
was
held
Wednesdy
at
Nkulumane
Hall
and
organised
by
the
Centre
for
Innovation
and
Technology
(CITE)
in
collaboration
with
the
Bulawayo
Progressive
Residents
Association
(BPRA),
Election
Resource
Centre
(ERC)
and
the
Nkulumane
Constituency
Development
Committee.
Zanu
PF’s
candidate,
Freedom
Murechu,
championed
a
model
of
development-through-access
and
leveraging
connection
to
the
ruling
party
to
extract
resources
while
the
independent
candidates
such
as
Rodney
Jele
advocated
for
a
model
of
devolved
governance,
where
development
is
planned
and
executed
locally,
free
from
partisan
manipulation
from
Harare.
The
Zanu
PF
candidate
argued
opposition-led
urban
councils
had
failed
Bulawayo
and
were
responsible
for
the
city’s
deterioration
over
the
past
two
decades.
He
said
aligning
Nkulumane
with
the
ruling
Zanu
PF
would
facilitate
development
because
the
national
government,
including
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa,
is
controlled
by
Zanu
PF.
“Zanu
is
in
opposition
in
Bulawayo
province.
The
opposition
has
been
in
power
for
two
decades
now.
The
city
was
run
by
Zanu
before
the
opposition
took
over.
In
2000
when
the
opposition
came
over
that’s
when
we
started
seeing
the
city
deteriorating,”
he
said.
Murechu
claimed
Zanu
PF
had
long-term
development
plans
that
were
discarded
after
the
opposition
took
control
of
the
city’s
governance.
“Zanu
council
had
a
vision
of
growing
the
population
and
said
short-term
let’s
drill
boreholes,
long-term,
do
Gwayi-Shangani,
but
Zanu
was
voted
out,”
he
said,
noting
the
government
has
been
accused
of
neglect
when
water
shortages
worsened.
Murechu
also
questioned
the
need
to
build
new
dams,
saying
residents
will
shoulder
that
burden
after
Mbuso
Fuzwayo,
one
of
the
independent
candidates,
had
proposed
that.
The
Zanu
PF
hopeful
cited
developments
in
Pelandaba–Tshabalala
and
Cowdray
Park,
attributing
them
to
by-elections
that
returned
the
constituencies
to
Zanu
PF.
“We
took
control
in
Pelandaba–Tshabalala
and
Cowdray
Park
after
by-elections
and
a
lot
is
happening
now
there,
but
the
development
is
seen
as
a
drop
in
the
ocean
because
our
cities
and
towns
have
deteriorated
a
lot.
Look
at
what
Mthuli
Ncube
(finance
minister
who
ran
for
the
seat
but
was
beaten
in
the
2023
election)
did
in
Cowdray
Park,
look
at
the
roads,
he
has
continued.”
Murechu
said
he
had
personally
financed
some
community
initiatives.
“I
have
drilled
a
borehole
using
my
own
money
after
speaking
to
the
local
councillor
Mmeli
Dube
regardless
of
the
fact
that
I
am
a
Zanu
member.
We
do
a
lot
but
people
don’t
notice.
You
only
see
it
during
a
campaign
but
the
challenge
is
you
people
don’t
rise
up.
You
say
‘yizinto
zeZanu
asizingeni’ but
that’s
money
to
develop
our
communities.”
He
added
that
his
close
ties
to
the
government
would
provide
steady
support
for
Nkulumane.
“I
have
good
relations
with
the
government
of
the
day.
Now
we
have
fixed
four
transformers
and
over
7
000
food
hampers
have
arrived.
The
US$100,000
revolving
fund
is
here
but
I
was
already
capacitating
others
with
my
own
money,”
Murechu
said.
Positioning
himself
as
the
only
candidate
who
can
work
seamlessly
with
the
national
administration,
he
said:
“I
am
clearly
someone
who
can
work
with
the
current
government,
already
Zanu
is
in
the
government
and
the
president
is
a
Zanu
candidate.
Vote
for
someone
who
can
work
with
the
Zanu
government
and
the
Zanu
leader,”
said
the
candidate
However
Murechu’s
assertions
were
swiftly
challenged.
Former
councillor,
Jele,
now
an
independent
candidate,
dismissed
the
idea
that
aligning
with
the
ruling
party
guarantees
development.
He
argued
the
deterioration
of
Bulawayo
began
when
the
central
government
stripped
councils
of
autonomy.
“I
don’t
have
money
to
bring
development.
You
would
be
thieving
if
you
do
that
from
your
own
pocket
but
as
a
public
official
you
work
with
the
state
that
releases
funds.
The
government
centralised
everything
when
the
opposition
took
over
power.
The
local
authority
is
as
poor
as
its
residents,”
Jele
said.
“The
government
removed
local
power
and
centralised
everything.
That’s
when
the
local
authority
failed
to
deliver.
To
an
extent
that
if
you
want
to
hire
personnel,
you
must
go
to
Harare.
That’s
why
we
are
pushing
devolution.”
Another
independent
candidate,
Mbuso
Fuzwayo,
said
development
in
Nkulumane
should
not
be
reduced
to
political
allegiance
or
personal
wealth.
“I
cannot
develop
Nkulumane
on
my
own.
Development
doesn’t
need
me
alone
as
Fuzwayo
but
everyone.
All
of
us
must
set
our
priorities
well,
but
our
priorities
are
misplaced,
let’s
meet
together
halfway.”
MDC–T
candidate,
Ethel
Sibanda,
highlighted
her
past
work
with
community
organisations
focusing
on
children’s
welfare.
“I
worked
with
NGOs
which
were
paying
fees
for
children.
Some
who
are
here
can
testify
but
when
the
government
made
the
law
tough
for
NGOs,
we
ended
this
last
year.
I
have
worked
with
children,
improving
relations
with
parents
so
they
can
become
good
models,”
she
said.