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A number of constituencies and wards will hold by-elections on March 26. Lovemore Chikova (LC) speaks to Zanu PF candidate for Harare East constituency Cde Mavis Gumbo (MG)to understand her agenda for the area.

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(LC): Let me start by congratulating you for being elected the Zanu PF candidate for the March 26 by-election in Harare East constituency. Now you are facing a much bigger task after winning the primaries.

(MG): Yes, the task may appear bigger, but as the revolutionary party Zanu PF and as the Zanu PF Harare East constituency family we are ready for our opponents, and we have always been ready for any election as a party and as a constituency.

We have been campaigning, carrying out various activities in the constituency and above all preaching the gospel of development which our father and First Secretary and President of the party, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa has been preaching. Let us face the truth, Harare East has been in the hands of the opposition since 2000, but things have gotten worse, with no sign of development for all these years. That is why we have always been trying to ensure that every person in the constituency understands that there is need for fresh ideas for the uplifting of the livelihoods of the people in this constituency. We have prepared our ground in terms of that message and come election day, we urge every voter in this constituency to vote for development, vote for Zanu PF.

LC: What kind of development do you envisage to carry out when you are elected?

MG: You see, development can be described in various ways, depending on what you want to achieve. In our vocabulary as the constituency and as Zanu PF, development means uplifting the lives of the people in Zimbabwe in general and in this case in Harare East constituency.

There are many projects that we intend to come up with and these will be all-inclusive projects. No one should be left behind when it comes to development. I hope you have heard President Cde ED Mnangagwa saying this statement on several occasions. Our developmental trajectory targets all the people in this constituency — women, youths, the elderly, those living with disabilities, everyone.  We are coming up with what are called business incubation hubs. There are many people with different business ideas in Harare East, but these people are not aware how they can grow these ideas into tangible and profitable entities.

Our constituency is blessed with a lot of talent, especially when it comes to education. There are many graduates, and others who are not graduates, in the constituency with brilliant business ideas, but they are just stuck with those good ideas. My mission will be to be the midwife for these ideas to hatch into profitable ventures.

These business incubation hubs will provide support to these ventures through various means like networking among themselves, bringing in investors and pairing the young businesses with mentors that can guide them through. It is time that the brilliant business ideas people in Harare East have turn into big business ventures. These business incubation hubs will act as an economic development tool for the constituency and we will accommodate everyone despite race, creed, class or political affiliation. These business incubation hubs can help bring new technologies down to the local level such as Harare East constituency. My vision is that when the time comes to account for those who would have contributed to the attainment of Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle income economy, Harare East and its people will be part of this big celebration as both beneficiaries and co-drivers of the vision.

LC: It seems these business incubation hubs are a good idea. What other development programmes are you lining up for Harare East?

MG:  One more issue about these business incubation hubs is that we have an opportunity to link them up with the innovation hubs at the local universities in Harare. We can forge an alliance in terms of innovation and eventually reaching out to industrial production. Back to your question, I will not regard myself as a successful MP without the empowering of youths, women and those living with disabilities in my constituency.

Apart from the business incubation hubs, there are programmes lined up in terms of business mentorship for various groups of people in my constituency. We want to create an environment in which everyone would have their small business catered for.

If you move around the constituency, you discover that there are lots of women involved in buying and selling of horticultural products — your vegetables, tomatoes, onions and many others. But these are selling from places that are not fit for that purpose.

I will facilitate the establishment of modern state-of-the-art market stalls for the entrepreneurs within the constituency.

There should be designated and well-built places where these people can operate from to shield them from the sun and rain, and more importantly to enhance sanitation.

As you know that I am a seasoned sports administrator and through my experience and passion, I will make sure that our youths are not left behind in terms of sports. Programmes are being lined up to unlock opportunities for employment creation through sports and recreation.

I am sure you are aware that I have already started this programme and just last week I hosted a football gala where giants in the sport like Benjani Mwaruwari, Harlington Shereni and Brenna Msiska were there to identify talent and possibly mentor the talented footballers.

The anchor of my tenure, when I am eventually elected to represent Harare East, will be on uplifting the lives of the people in whatever way possible.

Everyone should be involved in something that improves their lives and I will avail my business experience to assist to the best of my abilities.

We want to keep the youths off drugs that are haunting many of them, not only in Harare East, but in different parts of the country.

Sometimes this comes because the youths are idle, but we want to occupy them and ensure they do something to uplift themselves and the country as well.

LC: The Harare City Council has not been providing services as expected by the residents. What are you envisaging to do with this perennial problem?

MG: True, it is a fact that the opposition has not been up to the task in terms of providing services to the residents, not only in Harare East, but throughout the city. This is why there has been this huge call for the residents to exercise their rights to vote out those who have been negating their duties.

The major problem is that the opposition MP and the opposition councillor in Harare East have gone to sleep with regards to service delivery.

Rubbish is not being collected, the roads are in bad shape, water provision is intermittent, in fact, there are problems in every area of service delivery.

When I am eventually elected as an MP and a true representative of the people, I will always ensure that I am on the case of Harare City Council, holding the officials accountable to their service delivery mandates, including health, sanitation, housing and amenities delivery and recreation.

The Government has taken over the rehabilitation of the roads in Harare through the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) because of the failure by the city council.

If I am elected, I will ensure that I lobby for Harare East to get the attention of those driving the ERRP programme.

The beauty of this is that I will be a Zanu PF MP and there will be that development link between the Zanu PF Government and my constituency. Empowerment and community development will be our watch words in Harare East.

LC: I notice that housing is one of the problems facing people living in cities, not only in Harare East. What are your plans on this?

MG: I am going to encouraging the local authority to set up quotas for allocation of residential and commercial stands, especially for youths and women.

We want banks to facilitate easy access to loans for the development of these stands. As the Harare East MP, I will ensure that people in the constituency are not left behind when it comes to the allocation of land for the purposes of business and housing.

LC: In terms of your personality, what are you promising people of Harare East?

MG: My personality is not a promise, it is the reality on the ground and it is who I am. That is why my party Zanu PF has trusted me with this huge responsibility and I hope to deliver.

Naturally, I am a listening and engaging person. I will carry over this good trait of my personality into the job at hand following my election.

Growing up, I was not taught to discriminate against people. I view everyone equally and have respect for human beings because before God we are all equal.

People in Harare East have already discovered these traits in my personality from what we have been doing together — the different activities and projects we are already carrying out in the constituency. President Mnangagwa has taught us to accommodate the people, listen to their problems and act on them.

That is exactly what I will do in Harare East. I will be visible to the electorate and move on with them to the level we envisage to achieve.

I will be a voice for the constituents, ensuring Harare East is on the map and is also mentioned in Parliament during important debates.