PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday handed over 20 of the 28 vehicles to traditional leaders, among them the inaugural Chief Goledema of the San community in Tsholotsho District, Mr Christopher Dube, as part of Government’s ongoing programme to ensure chiefs are mobile.
The San community chose Mr Christopher Dube as the
inaugural chief, in 2021.
Chief Goledema is named after his grandfather, a respected
rainmaker and senior traditionalist who reportedly resisted white rule in
Tsholotsho during the colonial era.
According to the San customs and socio-political
organisation, they have no succession structure. It was, therefore, agreed that
Mr Dube, by being a descendant of Goledema, takes the inaugural chieftainship.
Traditional leaders who got vehicles, Isuzu twin cab
vehicles, are a fifth batch of chiefs who have benefited from the Government’s
ongoing programme. The fourth group received 18 cars in May 2021.
In Matabeleland South, traditional leaders who got the vehicles include Chief Maduna of Insiza District, Chief Manguba of Bulilima District, Chief Mathe of Umzingwane District and Chief Masuku of Matobo District.Others who received the cars in Matabeleland North are Chief Menyezwa of Lupane District, Chief Mahlathini of Tsholotsho District, Chief Kavula, Chief Sikalenge and Chief Sinamagonde all from Binga District.
Some chiefs from Manicaland, Masvingo and the Midlands
provinces also received their cars.
The remaining eight vehicles for chiefs from the three
Mashonaland provinces will be handed over by the President in Harare.
Speaking before the handover ceremony, President Mnangagwa
said all the country’s 291 chiefs will receive the cars for their use as they
traverse areas of their jurisdiction meeting communities. Mobility is key for
chiefs to deliver their traditional mandates.
“We have 291 chiefs and all of them will get vehicles. We
also got a grant from the government of the People’s Republic of China for the
construction of a new Parliament building,” he said.
“We will soon vacate the current building and create office
space for the National Council of Chiefs.”
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said
the vehicles will go a long way in ensuring that traditional leaders were
empowered and enhance their integrity in society.
Chiefs in Matabeleland, in the Midlands and Masvingo, will
get 20 cars while remaining ones in some districts in Manicaland, Mashonaland
East, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West will find their cars in Harare,”
he said.
“These cars were given to chiefs who had not yet received
their allocations since their installation as substantive chiefs. We have 10
more cars that are ready to be distributed to chiefs who are waiting to be
installed.”
Minister Moyo said some chiefs who received cars in January
2018 will soon get new cars to replace the old ones.
Mr Dube thanked the Government under the Second Republic
for recognising the San community and championing their equal participation in
national development under its broad-based empowerment programmes.
“As the new Chief Goledema of the San community, this vehicle will go a long way in speeding up Government programmes. For a long time, we were marginalised until the advent of the Second Republic,” he said. Chronicle
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