Chiefs’ wives need support: First Lady
FIRST LADY Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday said chiefs’ spouses needed to be supported to adequately play the critical role of buttressing the work of chiefs in the country.
She said traditional leadership was important in the country and Government made sure that there were laws to guide the work of chiefs, which made them custodians of culture, heritage, minerals, allocation of rural lands and ensuring no one died of hunger in communities.
The First Lady said this in a speech read on her behalf by Deputy Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Jennifer Mhlanga.
The event was the First Lady’s interface with the chiefs’ wives from Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in Bulawayo.
“Statistics show that almost 80 percent of our people stay in rural areas,” said the First Lady.
“Without you as helpers, our chiefs cannot manage alone. This, therefore, means that you are a very special group as you stand day in and day out helping our chiefs to care for the communities.
“Let me encourage you to continue doing good in helping our chiefs to look after their constituencies.”
The First Lady said her office, together with her philanthropic organisation, the Angel of Hope Foundation, were carrying out humanitarian activities in the country.
She said she was looking forward to joining hands with the chiefs’ wives to work on improving the people’s lives.
“Today, I am calling upon you all chiefs’ wives to take it upon yourselves to work for the development of your communities,” said the First Lady.
“I am available to work with you, sharing ideas and linking with Government departments and also organisations that complement Government developmental work.”
The First Lady encouraged women and girls to go for cancer screening.
“The challenge with cancer is that you can live your life without knowing you are affected, hence my continuous call for all women to be screened,” she said.
“I have a mobile clinic which travels around the country offering free screening services to help reduce loss of lives to cancer, especially cervical and breast cancers.
“I am also focused on our girl child, ensuring that she has equal opportunities with her boy counterpart in all spheres of life. Let’s encourage our girls to complete their education and keep discouraging them from early marriages and pregnancies which destroy their future.”
The First Lady spoke against gender-based violence. GOVERNMENT and Harare City Council have attended to problems that had stalled some road works in Harare and Mashonaland Central Province, and work is expected to resume soon, officials have said.
Road contractors in Harare had stopped working due to increases in prices, while work on the $12,5 million Bindura-Matepatepa Road in Mashonaland Central Province had stalled due to a shortage of fuel.
This was revealed during a tour of roads in Harare and Bindura by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Hot Spot Roads rehabilitation programme.
Harare City Council has since approved the price variations, with road construction set to resume next week, while the District Development Fund (DDF) is set to assist the Central Mechanical and Equipment Department in transporting fuel to road projects countrywide.
Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet in charge of DDF and related infrastructure Mr James Jonga said DDF will assist CMED in setting up fuel deports in provincial capitals to ease fuel challenges faced by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.
“They are preparing to move storage tanks to Chinhoyi and Marondera,” he said.
Bindura will receive theirs at the end of March.
“In order to manage possible leakages, CMED has proposed that our contractors firstly get confirmation letters and buy coupons in Harare.”
Permanent Secretary in Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s Office Rtd Major-General Godfrey Chanakira, who is the chairman of the taskforce, said the purpose of the visit was to assess the progress on the ground on on-going projects which are considered as hotspots.
“They are topical either because of accidents or if the state of the road is bad or if it is hampering economic activities,” he said.
Matepatepa is the major producer of agricultural products in this province, so it is essential that there are good roads to service it for the transportation of inputs and produce to the market.
“As they bring the challenges they are facing, we will look at them and then consult the fiscal authorities to see whether there is any scope to see whether they can extend the projects.
“We are not going to do anything which is not funded in the budget, so right now we are basing on funds availed in the 2019 Budget.”
Speaking during the tour of High Glen roundabout in Harare, Harare City Council works director Engineer Zvenyika Chawatama told the taskforce that some the city’s contractors had stopped work because of price escalations, but council had approved the changes.
“The project (roundabout) has dual funding, that is from the city and Zinara,” he said.
“We expect to open part of it to traffic on Tuesday (tomorrow), while the rest of the project should be complete by end