Matemadanda rallies MPs to work together

GOKWE Central legislator and Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Cde Victor Matemadanda (pictured right) has said Gokwe legislators should come together and work hard to change negative perceptions about the area.

Gokwe is one of the largest, but remotest districts in the Midlands province.

It is divided into two districts — Gokwe North and Gokwe South — with eight constituencies.

Speaking during victory celebrations in Gokwe Town at the weekend, Cde Matemadanda said Gokwe, with poor soils and harsh weather conditions, was regarded as a dumping area during the colonial era.

He said the district was known to be inhabitable and tsetse fly-infested.

“Today in the 21st century, we as people of Gokwe continue to be looked down upon as useless people,” said Cde Matemadanda. “We are called names, we are regarded as a backward people. Every person looking for a gardener or a maid thinks such persons can only be found here in Gokwe, so we have a job as Members of Parliament.”

Cde Matemadanda said legislators from the district should come up with developmental projects and support each other in working for the betterment of the people from Gokwe.

“We are in Parliament not to brag about it,” he said. “Not to pen a piece of history that I was once a Member of Parliament; we must work for the people and uplift their lives.”

Cde Matemadanda said legislators from the district should start by advocating for change of some names in Gokwe, which have negative connotations.

“Here we need to even rename some of the areas that have very negative connotations,” he said. “We have places like Gandavaroyi, which loosely translated means a place where witches and wizards are found. We need to change these derogatory names.”

Cde Matemadanda thanked the people of Gokwe for voting resoundingly for him and President Mnangagwa in last year’s harmonised elections, saying the new Government was working hard to change lives of the people for the better.

“The President has been a busy man since being elected into office. He has been reaching out to the international community and other friends as he seeks to turn Zimbabwe into an upper middle income economy by 2030,” he said.