FINANCE, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube has left the community in Cowdray Park divided after donating 10 000 tonnes of rice to the suburb on Sunday this
week.
Ncube was thrashed by Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate Raphael Pashor Sibanda in the August 2023 harmonised elections.
Sibanda was, however, recalled by CCC self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu before being banned from a by-election that was won by Zanu PF candidate Arthar Mujeyi.
But while some residents welcomed the gesture, others expressed disappointment and frustration after being left out.
The residents who supported the donation urged Ncube to continue with the gesture.
“We are very happy with the minister’s gesture. We really wish he comes back to donate again. I was registered for the programme and I got the rice. I am really happy with the donation,” a resident told Southern Eye.
Another resident also applauded the manner in which the rice was donated, saying “the orderliness that characterised the distribution showed unity and solidarity” in Cowdray Park.
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“We are really grateful for the minister’s donation, he surely thought of us,” she said.
However, other residents were disappointed that the donation did not benefit all residents in the constituency.
“Some of us did not even know about the donation that happened. We did not even know that we had to be registered first for us to get the rice. We really feel left out,” a resident said.
Another resident said Ncube should turn his focus to other projects, including provision of water and electricity in the constituency.
“The minister should focus on solving issues like water shortage and electricity load-shedding in Cowdray Park instead of donating rice. Cowdray Park is the worst affected township in Bulawayo, hence he should focus more on that,” the resident said.
Ncube donated 10 000 tonnes of rice to the vulnerable and elderly in Cowdray Park through his Mthuli Ncube Foundation in partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Tzu Chi Zimbabwe.
The minister promised to install WiFi at Cowdray Park Secondary School and donate books to its library.
In the run-up to the 2023 August elections, Ncube conducted various developmental projects in the area such as road construction and installation of public WiFi.
