Chidhakwa warns against alcohol abuse
MINES and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa has criticised youths here for continuously asking him to buy them beer instead of pushing for developmental projects.
Speaking at the burial of Zvimba Rural District Council chairperson Councillor Francis Chikambi near Kutama College on Wednesday, Minister Chidhakwa deplored drunken behaviour among most of the youths in Zvimba.
“All the youths here look older than Baba Chikambi (the village head),” he said.
“Please, please, my young brothers, planning your lives is greater than drinking beer.”
Minister Chidhakwa, who is also the National Assembly Member for Zvimba South, said he was troubled by the youths’ tendencies of asking for beer, even as payment for offloading school building materials, instead of voluntarily and happily doing the job.
He said the youths should emulate the late Alderman Chikambi, who was straightforward and hard-working, who practised politics in a straightforward and none corrupt way.
Zvimba Rural District Council vice chairperson Clr Beauty Tomu described the late council chairman as a visionary leader who left a legacy of diligence in council.
She said during Cde Chikambi’s tenure of office, council managed to spruce itself up to a level where it had become the envy of other local authorities.
“During his time in office we managed to purchase a lot of assets and we have undertaken successful projects such as opening of Chikeya and Herbert Chitepo clinics, opening of Murombedzi Secondary School, tarring of Murombedzi Growth Point, purchasing of road construction equipment and building Victim Friendly Units at Kutama and Murombedzi Police stations, among many other projects,” said Clr Tomu.
Alderman Chikambi joined Zvimba Rural District Council in 1993.
During his stint with the council, he served as vice chairperson for a long time, before being elected as the chairperson in 2013, a post he held until his death on Sunday. He was 72. Cde Chikambi is survived by his wife Alice, four children and seven grandchildren.