Zanu PF Matabeleland South Provincial chairman Mangaliso Ndlovu says he did not contest in party’s primary elections in the reconfigured Bulilima Constituency over the weekend for the good of the party.
If he had he contested, Ndlovu, who is also the Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister and Bulilima East legislator, would have faced off with Bulilima West legislator Dingumuzi Phuthi, who is also the Deputy Minister of Information Communication Technology, Courier and Postal Services.
Ndlovu’s constituency was collapsed through the delimitation exercise, as the province did not have enough registered voters during the time the exercise was done.
Both Ndlovu and Phuthi command huge support in the area.
In an interview, Ndlovu said although the decision not to contest was not any easy one, he had to take it for the greater good.
“Sometimes as leaders it is very important to know that it is not about you being in a position, it is about the party delivering. It is about the people loving their party and you making sure that you do what you can to promote that. I took some thorough introspection and I am so happy that I arrived at this decision, it was not an easy one. It would have resulted in a very brutal fight which I think could not work for the achievement of our goals as a collective,” he said.
“For me the bigger fight is to make sure that the ruling party wins all the constituencies in the province. We need a very strong coordinated campaign. We need to have time to articulate the good works that our President has been doing under the Second Republic. So, I looked at it and I said for me to be able to pull in weight and dedicate my time to the entire province, I should not contest. I do not think I needed to go in and fight with Hon Phuthi whom I believe is more than capable of delivering, because he is someone I grew up with in politics and I believe that he will represent the party very well.”
According to Ndlovu, handing over control to Phuthi to represent the Bulilima people was not difficult because he would do a good job of doing so in Parliament and win the constituency for the ruling party.
He declared that he will meet with the general public over the weekend to explain his choice and rally the populace behind the new party candidate who will carry on the President’s vision fulfilment efforts.
While this was going on, other constituents praised the MP for his dedication to building the constituency.
Because of his attitude to development issues, Chief Mphini claimed that Ndlovu’s decision to withdraw from the race did not sit well with the residents of the area.
“It is a big loss because he was able to separate politics and development and work with everyone. We have a councillor who is not from his party in our area and he did not sideline him, abantu bayakhala kakhulu. He is a pro-development minded person, just look at the number of clinics, schools and community projects like gardens and youth projects he initiated and those he supported. Cde Phuthi will have a challenge because the constituency is now very big and they will need to find a way of working together somehow,” said Chief Mphini.
Gwambe Clinic Project (South African chapter) chairman Mr Descent Lungwane Moyo said it is a bitter pill to swallow for the project as the legislator was a hands-on person.
“It is hard to accept that he will not be our MP after the elections because his commitment to the development of our area was marvellous. We had lots of challenges in building our clinic and he always motivated us when the going got tough. Beside supplying us with lots of materials and his equipment he would put on a work suit and join us in working. We will miss him a lot because he was able to bring everyone across the political divide for the good of the community,” said Mr Moyo.
A school head in one of the schools in Bulilima East constituency who did not want to be identified due to ministry protocols said they benefited a lot from the legislator.
The head said although disappointing, it was not shocking that Cde Ndlovu took the decision not to contest as he was a selfless person.
“Generally, he is a great leader and he relates well with the community at large. Vision 2030 is at his heart; he wants to see an upper middle class. He is the founder of the secondary school and assisted in building clinics and donating state-of-art science laboratories. He has been instrumental in assisting the Second Republic to cascade quality, inclusive and equitable education, even community empowerment through projects. He is a leader who has the national interest at heart,” said the head.