By Byron Mutingwende
The people of Norton have said their vote is on Temba Peter “Bhuru” Mliswa because he has brought development on their doorsteps.
Speaking at his mega rally at Kosheni Ground in Katanga that has seen thousands of residents of Norton defying calls by the two main political parties of ZANU (PF) and the MDC Alliance who are holding their separate meetings in Harare, for his own, Mliswa the Honourable Member of the House of Norton praised the peaceful environment obtaining in the area despite sporadic reports of intimidation in some rural wards in the constituency.
“I praise you the people of Norton for supporting me in such great numbers and making it clear that you heeded President ED Mnangagwa’s call for maintaining peace. You have seen our engagement with you in our highly subscribed road shows that have culminated in this final star rally here at Kosheni Grounds just a day before the crucial harmonised elections. You have already shown me your support and let’s go for the final victory come Monday 30 July 2018,” Honourable Mliswa said.
There was thunderous applause from the huge crowd, which was kept serenaded by the sweet music emanating from titanic loudspeakers at the show graced by the talented traditional Mbira ensemble Mbira Dzenharira and other famous Zimdancehall artistes. Aspiring independent candidate for Ward 2 of Norton, who is himself a staunch supporter and follower of Honourable Mliswa, Dr Godfrey Mugaviri, showcased his dancing skills as the young and the old joined him in gyrating to the “certain victory” of the Bhuru well before the elections that are seen as a formality to endorse the development proponent.
“Norton has been one of the highly enlightened constituencies through the effective representation of Honourable Temba Peter “Bhuru” Mliswa. In the past before the God-inspired coming of this man to the area, we were a shadow of ourselves,” said Dr Mugaviri.
Josephine Mukute, a resident of Norton, was happy that the people had turned out in their large numbers just to be reminded about the need to vote Honourable Mliswa back into office at the appropriate time so that he would finish significant developmental projects that he has initiated within the constituency.
There has been significant rehabilitation of the dilapidated roads in both rural and urban wards of Norton. One such road that was impassable was the Chibero Road but the facelift has seen it opening up to commuter omnibus operators and taxis alike. The John O’Growth Road in Ngoni was also a death trap because of the potholes but today it is better than most of the highways nationwide. As we are speaking more than 200km of the roads within the entire Norton constituency have been rehabilitated.
“I am sure this man has dedicated all his lifetime savings to developing Norton as a constituency. He drilled boreholes in the Chitenderano and Mutubva areas that have always been having problems with access to clean, potable water since residents used open, contaminated wells for drinking, washing and cooking. He also electrified Chitenderano Secondary School. If that money is quantified, it runs into millions of dollars,” said Nelson Muzuva, another aspiring independent councillor in Norton.
Honourable Mliswa, working together with some aspiring independent councillors, has also left an indelible footprint within the education and health sectors. He is catering for school fees, accommodation and food of a number of students at the Chinhoyi University of Technology as well as tuition schools for hundreds of pupils at St Eric’s and Vimbai schools.
The legislator’s benevolence cascades to the health sector where he has refurbished the mortuary at Norton Hospital and occasionally donate groceries and blankets to the patients. His kindness is also seen at funerals where he donates foodstuffs and financial assistance to the bereaved families.
As a result, the people of Norton have vowed to retain him as their representative and were short of saying any result short of victory for the legislator would be testimony to the allegations of rigging peddled by opposition parties against the ruling party.