Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa at one time said he would delay releasing the party’s manifesto because Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Emmerson Mnangagwa might steal some of their ideas.
He was probably right. Mnangagwa has been stealing the thunder from the MDC bit by bit and today he was talking about devolution, a subject that the MDC has been talking about since the new constitution came to force in 2013.
Devolution is covered in section 264 of the constitution and involves devolving governmental powers and responsibilities to provincial and metropolitan councils as well as local authorities.
“We all want to be rich,” he told a rally in Gwanda today. “For us to do this we must now respect our constitution. In our constitution there is a part that talks of the decentralisation of authority. There is however another decentralisation which has not happened which is devolution. To give a province the authority to manage the economy of that province. The provincial minister’s role should now change to that of being an economic one”
Mnangagwa said Provincial Ministers should now ensure that the economy of each province grows.
“The minister must now know that the resources which are here must be exploited, that is the only way to increase the assets of the province. There is no one to be left behind poor. In this province we have solar projects. You tried to do a solar project and it was unfortunate this was infiltrated and did not succeed, we are in the process of rectifying that.”
Mnangagwa whose campaign takes him to Bulawayo tomorrow has been running a different type of campaign where he commissions a project before addressing a rally.
In Gwanda, he commissioned the command livestock programme before addressing a rally at Pelandaba Stadium.
Tomorrow he is expected to visit Ekusileni Medical Centre a project mooted by former Vice-President Joshua Nkomo which has been lying idle for 14 years.
It will not be surprising to hear that Mnangagwa has obtained funding for the hospital and that it will be opened on 1 July in memory of Father Zimbabwe who died on 1 July 1999.
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