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Herald Reporters
Three people who were recently elected as Members of Parliament were yesterday sworn in as lawmakers in the august House. Chirumanzu-Zibagwe MP, Cde Auxilia Mnangagwa, Mount Darwin West MP Cde Barnwell Seremwe and Manicaland Senator Shadreck Chipanga took oath of affirmation and loyalty in the National Assembly and Senate respectively.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Cde Marble Chinomona notified the House of the election of Cdes Mnangagwa and Seremwe before directing Acting Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda to administer the oath.

Cdes Mnangagwa and Seremwe were duly elected in by-elections held on March 28 2015.

The Chirumanzu-Zibagwe and Mt Darwin West by-elections were necessitated by the elevation of Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa and Joice Mujuru to the position of Vice President.

Cde Mujuru has since been fired from both the Government and zanu-pf after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate President Mugabe.

Cde Chipanga was elected Senator through Proportional Representation to replace the late national hero Cde Kumbirai Kangai, who died in August 2013.

Initially former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Dr Gideon Gono had been nominated but it turned out that he had not transferred his name from the voters’ roll to Manicaland province.

In an interview after the swearing in, Cde Chipanga said he would work tirelessly to uplift the lives of people in Manicaland province and Zimbabwe in general.

“It’s a pleasure that I am back in Parliament. As you are aware I was Member of Parliament for quite a while and have been away. Now that I am back, I believe I will do more than I was able to do when I was a Member of Parliament years back,” said Cde Chipanga.

“I know the major problems facing our people in Manicaland among others is the question of hunger, schools and clinics.

“These, I will work tirelessly together with the local MPs of course. And I believe that now that we have a majority as zanu-pf, we should be able push through any pieces of legislation that we think are necessary for the betterment of our people. (Dr) Gono was just being used by Mutasa which is very unfortunate. But here we are. It’s all behind us. Although things seemed difficult at some point, I remained hopeful,” Cde Chipanga said.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly observed a minute of silence in honour of former Mudzi West MP Cde Acquillina Katsande (zanu-pf) who died in March this year.