Mobilise people for BVR, MPs told

LEGISLATORS should take an active role in informing and mobilising people in the respective constituencies to register to vote during the ongoing Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise.

Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Cde Mandi Chimene said this at the weekend during the Shonga Sports Festival, which was held at Mavhudzi High School in Makoni South constituency.

Electronic and print media, she said, had limited reach, hence it was important for MPs to engage with the people.

“Our youths are the most important part when it comes to elections and they should be educated on the ongoing BVR. MPs should be on the ground mobilising people so that they go and register to vote. They should not wait for TVs or newspapers to work for them,” said Cde Chimene.

“MPs must consider how many people will be on TV or read the newspaper to get that information about the BVR, which means they must go on the ground,” she said.

The Shonga Sports Festival - at which ZIFA president Dr Philip Chiyangwa was guest of honour - was organised by Minister Chimene.

In his speech at the same event, Cde Chiyangwa urged people to respect traditional leaders as they were pivotal to empowerment programmes.

“Let us respect our traditional leaders. Remember, traditional leaders were the first to notice that the colonialists had illegally occupied our land and forced us into arid land. After the Lancaster House Agreement, they were the first to say let’s have a constitutional amendment, which allows us to take back what belongs to us. We then, through the constitutional amendment, took back our farms. It was a correctional process. It was an imbalance, which was created by the white regime,” he said.

Youths who participated at the event partook in soccer, volleyball, netball and tug-of-war.

Winners walked away with prize money and trophies.