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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

WOMEN Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni has said a senior official in her ministry would be disciplined for his utterances during the pre-budget seminar held recently in Victoria Falls.

On Saturday the Minister apologised at the Zanu-PF Provincial Coordinating Committee meeting in Lupane over the Ministry’s Chief Director, Retired Air Commodore Evan Dumba’s claim that the Ministry was failing to get qualified people for ward development coordinators positions.

This drew the ire of Members of Parliament and ordinary people who took to social media platforms to attack Minister Nyoni accusing her of being detached from reality.

Minister Nyoni did not attend the pre-budget seminar.

 “The truth is that I was at the African Union meeting in Ethiopia to debate about Beijing 2025. Beijing 2025 will be the topic for Heads of State at the next AU and United Nations summits hence it was important that I attend. I had prepared my presentation which I proof read,” said Minister Nyoni.

She said she was shocked that Rt Air Commodore Dumba spoke about something that was not in the prepared document.

“My officer erred and I am sorry about that. I made a statement which corrected the situation as there was a flame against me on social media yet I did nothing except that I responded to a call of duty to Ethiopia. I will put my                                                                                                        house in order and discipline my officer because what he read was not what was in my report,” she said.

Minister Nyoni said the utterances angered the province.

 “That statement angered people. I was angry too because I am from Matabeleland North and wouldn’t condemn my own province,” said Minister Nyoni. 

“If he was reading saying it’s my speech, that’s not true. It’s not mine and I don’t know what was in his report. I was equally affected but let’s have a collective responsibility. If such a thing happens again, let’s engage before you go to social media because social media destroys.”

She reiterated that her Ministry doesn’t employ as recruitment is done by the Public Service which currently has a freeze on recruitment.

 “Instead of us engaging each other as a province we went into war on social media. That was cheap politics. I wouldn’t have said what my director said because I have a responsibility for this province,” she said.

Provincial Member of Parliament under the Women’s Quota Cde Elizabeth Masuku said MPs interjected and ordered Rt Air Commodore Dumba to stop reading the speech because they were angry.

Cde Stars Mathe who is MP for Nkayi South said the statement had created animosity in the province.— @ncubeleon