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Nduduzo Tshuma, Political Editor

ACTING President, Kembo Mohadi, has assured Zimbabweans that no one will starve due to the drought experienced in the last agricultural season as the Government is implementing a cocktail of measures to cushion them from hunger.

Addressing a Zanu-PF rally at Brunapeg Business Centre on Wednesday to officially unveil the party candidate, Cde Hlalani Mguni, ahead of the Mangwe constituency by-election tomorrow Cde Mohadi who is one of President Mnangagwa’s deputies, said the Government is doing everything to address the challenges faced by the people.

“I know that we are going through difficult times, the country is in a difficult period, we don’t have everything that we must give to the people of Zimbabwe. Our economy is not performing well, God also did not give us enough rains. All this worsened people’s plight.
“We fully appreciate this but we want to assure you that we will not abandon you. We will do everything within our power to ensure that no one starves,” said Cde Mohadi.

“Even your livestock is affected by the drought therefore we will put measures to ensure that we save your animals so that they do not succumb to drought.
“So we will establish feeding lots, we did it before in 2012, we did it again in 2000 to ensure that you can pen your cattle in one place so that they could feed. These feed lots should be revived to ensure that Government bring feeding stock for livestock from others places.” Cde Mohadi said the Government was importing grain to feed communities affected by the drought while also drilling boreholes to provide water for people and livestock.

“So before coming here, I instructed District Development Fund to come and drill boreholes in areas where you want. I see it fit that each and every ward should have two boreholes so that women can access water as well as do their irrigation projects,” he said.

Cde Mohadi committed to ensure that community centres in the area are equipped with computers and that they also receive television and cellular phone signals as well as the completion of some outstanding secondary schools in the district.
“What I am saying is not just happening in Mangwe but in most border areas across the country. We will make sure that we have base stations across the country so that communities can access our local content and know development projects occurring in the country,” he said.

Cde Mohadi said the Government was unrolling a programme to construct more clinics to make the health facilities easily accessible to the villagers.
Commenting on the drought induced energy challenges being experienced in the country, Cde Mohadi said the Government was working round the clock to address the situation.
“At the moment we are importing 400 megawatts from South Africa and we will soon be getting 500 megawatts from Mozambique. We will fix the electricity issue that’s what we are doing as a Government,” he said.

Cde Mohadi said the Government was doing all these things at the face of acts of sabotage by the MDC Alliance through violent demonstrations and the invitation of sanctions against the country.

“What they did was to rush to America pleading with the Americans to set up Zidera law to bring sanctions into the country. The sanctions are preventing us from accessing credit lines. Are these the people that you want to lead you? These people make things so difficult in Zimbabwe, people who sit and connive with our enemies we fought against so that they bring economic sanctions to the country. These people are just traitors and nothing else, ngabathengisi,” said Cde Mohadi.

He called on Zanu-PF supporters to come in their numbers tomorrow to vote for Cde Mguni to ensure an emphatic victory for the party.

The seat fell vacant following the death of Cde Obedingwa Mguni in June. The party then nominated his widow, Cde Hlalani Mguni, to contest the seat.

Cde Mohadi challenged parliamentarians to work for the people saying failure to do so will result in rejection. “Serve the people and serve the party. There are no individual interests, this is not a chieftaincy. You are not better than those who elect you because they are the ones who put you in that position. Strive to make sure that they are better than how you found them,” he said.

“The positions that you hold, the positions that I hold are not yours our mine they are for the people. Even the President is the President because of the people, even his deputies Mohadi and Chiwenga are in those positions because of the people not their personal might.”