Zimpapers Logo

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter 

FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday urged chiefs’ wives to lead in embracing the cultivation of traditional (small) grains as a means of enhancing food security while mitigating against drought.

The First Lady said this after meeting wives of traditional chiefs, who were accompanied by their husbands and chiefs from Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and the Midlands at a Bulawayo hotel.

She said while chiefs have their Isiphala seNkosi/Zunde raMambo, their wives should also be empowered to transform lives of vulnerable women and children in their communities through the Isiphala samakhosikazi ezinduna/Zunde Ramambokadzi. 

Amai Mnangagwa donated traditional seeds, previously known as small seed grains, to chiefs’ wives as a way of promoting their cultivation in communities.

“Because of climate change we are actively promoting traditional grains. The unexpected variation in the climate is responsible for the successive droughts and disruptions in the expected rainfall patterns. 

“We have experienced the challenges of climate change so we are looking at proposals and solutions to the problem. This has prompted me to come to you chiefs’ wives because of the duties you have in your communities and the impact you have on other women in your communities. We are saying today this is now our work and we should start growing these traditional grains in our homesteads as chiefs’ wives,” she said.

Amai Mnangagwa said embracing traditional grains would result in improved food security.

“Traditional grains such as millet and sorghum require less rainfall and hence play a pivotal role for present and future human use due to prevailing conditions. Grains such as millet have a health benefit like reducing blood pressure, heart diseases and other diseases affecting human life. Through this initiative we also want to encourage a change in eating habits so that we encourage more consumption of our traditional grains. We need chiefs’ wives to demonstrate by leading in the consumption of these traditional grains at family level,” said Amai Mnangagwa.

She said there is a need for a serious campaign to encourage the eating of traditional foods as younger generations seem to be shunning them.

Amai Mnangagwa said with traditional foods in chiefs’ wives’ silos, there would be no excuse for the vulnerable in communities to go hungry. 

She said her office would also be facilitating competitions on traditional foods to encourage their acceptability in homes and even for tourists.

 “This will see our visitors who come to Zimbabwe being interested in our places of interest as well as traditional foods. So, the ball is now in your court. I have also brought with me vegetable seeds. I will not tell you how to use them but I guess the vegetable seeds will compel you to do something,” the First Lady said.

Speaking on behalf of chiefs’ wives, Chief Shana’s wife Regina praised the First Lady for the empowerment project.

She said traditional foods were in the past a key component of a family’s meal hence the First Lady’s programme would see communities rededicating themselves to their cultivation. 

“We grew up eating meals from traditional foods, maize meal was just but a luxury to us. This is a challenge for us to start cultivating traditional foods to improve our food security and we are happy to take up the challenge,” Mrs Shana said.

The event was attended Provincial Affairs Ministers from Bulawayo (Judith Ncube), Matabeleland South (Abednego Ncube), Matabeleland North (Cde Richard Moyo) and Midlands (Larry Mavhima) who sent representatives.

Meanwhile, the First Lady has commissioned 100 Pepsi vending push carts for women in Bulawayo South constituency courtesy of Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Raj Modi.

The event, which was held at Sizinda suburb grounds, saw Amai Mnangagwa also donate food hampers to the elderly, under the banner of her Angel of Hope Foundation. 

She said Pepsi company is capacitating women and also empowering the nation.

“Empowering women in any form is vital to building a future we want. Women empowerment increases the capacity of individuals and groups to make choices and transform their choices into desired actions and outcomes. It is the ‘can do factor’ shifting away from ‘I can’t’ to I can”. When women are given the resources to successfully lead their own projects, work towards their goals and drive their careers, we call that development. Pespi has brought development to our women,” said the First Lady. 

One of the beneficiaries under the Pepsi programme, Ms Getrude Mambeu, said the vending booth would see her being able provide for her family through selling Pepsi products.

Deputy Minister Modi, who is also the MP for the area, said in partnership with Pepsi, he was empowering women as they are always victims of abuse in communities.

“Most of them do not have any financial freedom. Therefore, it is better to give them the fishing rod instead of giving them the fish. That is what we are doing today, giving them the push cart, free ice and the product at wholesale price which they can sell at a reasonable price to the public,” he said.  —  @nqotshili