AN aspiring Zanu-PF councillor Cde Langton Nyashanu has been making a difference in Ward 6 assisting in the rehabilitation of roads and paying school fees for underprivileged pupils.
Cde Nyashanu (46) who is in the trucking business and is popularly known as “Salaco” is the Zanu-PF candidate for Ward 6, Mkoba North Constituency.
There are 18 wards in Gweru which will be contested by aspiring candidates from mainly Zanu-PF and CCC.
Seventeen of the wards have been controlled by the opposition and Cde Nyashanu intends to be one of the ruling party candidates to take away the ward from the opposition so that he continues working for the community.
He has already shown his commitment to the Gweru community by donating the services of his tipper truck to gravel roads in Mtapa, Montrose and Ascot Extension.
“I was born and bred here in Mtapa’s high-density suburb. Back then the city moniker lived to its billing, it was really a local authority of progress but now things have gone bad.
“There is a need for action and if the people give me their vote, I will surely work tirelessly to bring Gweru back to its former glory and bring water back to our taps,” said Cde Nyashanu.
He said the water challenge in Gweru is not about the pumps but the old pipe system, which needs to be replaced.
“I believe that with the support of President Mnangagwa and our party Zanu-PF, we can push for a water pipe rehabilitation project to tackle the water issue once and for all,” said Cde Nyashanu.
The city has been facing severe water challenges for many years, with most residents going for days without it.
The situation has also been compounded by sewer reticulation problems, leading to frequent sewage bursts in residential areas.
The local authority has embarked on a five-day water rationing schedule because of insufficient water pumping capacity at Gwenhoro dam.
Council is supposed to pump 60 to 80 megalitres per day to serve everyone in Gweru but is only able to pump 32 to 40 megalitres per day which is not enough to serve the entire city.
This is because the city is using three water pumps instead of six pumps.
For ages now, the local authority has been battling to remedy the city’s perennial water woes that have often seen suburbs in high-lying areas such as Ridgemont, Mkoba 1, 3, 14, 15, 19 and 20 going for months with dry taps.
The drastic move has often backfired with waterborne diseases reported in some parts of the city before.
The infrastructure for piped water in Gweru was developed in the 1950s and designed for a population of about 300 000 people.
Gweru now has about 1,2 million people, more than half of whom have no access to clean water and are at risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
Cde Nyashanu said the city is facing a major crisis with its sewage reticulation system, resulting in hundreds of residents being exposed to human waste in their homes and streets.
“The sewage issue in our city has reached a critical level, and we cannot afford to sit back and watch as our residents suffer, the ruling party Zanu-PF and I as its candidate for councillorship are determined to work to come up with long-term solutions that will not only improve the quality of life of our residents but also help to attract investors to our city,” he said.
Cde Nyashanu said he is also an advocate for the rehabilitation of recreational facilities in the city so that youths have something to do and stay away from drug and substance abuse.
“Right now we are struggling with this drug abuse menace bythe youths who have nothing to do. By rehabilitating recreational facilities, we will give them something to do and stay away from drugs and other dangerous substances,” he said.
“The people of Ward 6 and Gweru have suffered for too long. We need someone who understands our struggles and has the skills to make a difference.”
He said he was born at Mtapa Clinic in Mtapa suburb and became involved in politics from a tender age as he wanted to be the voice of ordinary people.
“I was an active member of the Mtapa Zanu-PF youth brigade between 1996 and 1998 and today I am standing in the coming council elections representing my President Mnangagwa and the party Zanu-PF. It is high time we take control of these urban councils so that we bring them back to their old glory days because the opposition has failed the people,” said Cde Nyashanu.
He is paying fees for the under privileged children in Ward 6 and also assisting the elderly with food among other things.
“This is also part of assisting our people where possible. We are paying fees for a lot of children from the community who are under privileged. They are being funded from a scheme I formed under Chikara che Development,” said Cde Nyashanu.
President Mnangagwa, at the weekend, declared that Zanu-PF is the only party that can protect the country’s independence and sovereignty.
Zanu-PF is poised for victory come August 23 elections because it has managed to stabilise the economy and implement many projects across the country.
There has been currency stabilisation, infrastructure development, construction of water bodies, irrigation equipment deployed, roads being rehabilitated, fisheries opening up, command farming and Intwasa/ Pfumvudza programme for food security. – The Chronicle
