PROGRESSIVE Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) leader Takavafira Zhou says Mberengwa has been impoverished by years of unbridled plunder by the ruling elite.
Zhou is contesting the Mberengwa Central constituency seat on a Citizens Coalition for Change ticket.
Mberengwa is endowed with minerals such as gold, iron ore, emeralds, lithium, tantalite, chromium, antimony, asbestos, corundum, lead, magnetite, talc, tantalum, tungsten, cordierite and beryl.
The district, which is prone to drought, however remains one of the most underdeveloped in Zimbabwe.
Zhou said it was an affront that the area remained underdeveloped with poor infrastructure, poor health and education facilities and saddled by poverty.
“I empathise with the suffering populace of Mberengwa amid abundant resources accruing in the area,” Zhou said in a wide-ranging interview.
“There is need for legislation which ensures that natural resources accruing in an area are tapped and harnessed for the development of the host communities in particular and the country in general.
“Mberengwa has witnessed excessive plunder of its mineral wealth be it emeralds, copper, antimony, platinum, chrome, lime, tantalite, asbestos, iron ore, gold and now lithium.”
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Zhou will face Zanu PF candidate Tinashe Shumba in the August 23 polls.
According to Zhou, Mberengwa suffers from structural limitations, where political leadership and government have failed to protect the poor through pro-poor policies and regulations.
“A paradigm shift from looting, wrecking, siphoning, and plundering such resources, to responsible utilisation and local processing can see Mberengwa Central in particular and Mberengwa district in general making a great leap forward through value-addition and beneficiation,” Zhou said.
“We would want to see the improvement of the livelihoods of the people of Mberengwa in particular, powered by its abundant natural resources.”
