By Byron Mutingwende
In a typical fashion reminiscent of the Exodus of Israelites from the oppressive Egypt to Canaan, Kenneth Shupikai Musanhi, the Member of the House of Assembly for Bindura North Constituency has embarked on a number of projects to uplift the lives of the people in the area.
Born on the 10th of January 1956, Hon Musanhi left school in September 1975 to join the war of liberation that brought about independence in 1980. He has 25 years vast experience int operating and manufacturing of buses, trucks, commercial vehicles, aviation and industry.
He was a Board Member of the National Roads Association (ZINARA), full member of the SOS Children’s Village, Board Member of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine and a Counsellor of the Bindura University of Science Education.
Currently, he is the Executive Chairman of KSM Holdings, Member of Parliament for Bindura North Constituency, Chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Sports, Culture and Recreation as well as a member of Parliamentary Standing Rules and Orders Committee. He is a ZANU (PF) Politburo Member and Secretary for Gender and Culture.
During the liberation war from 1973-1975, he was an active youth in Highfield. When he went to Mozambique, he became the Youth Commander of the Rutuka area from 1977-1979. He worked with the late Retired Air Commodore Cde Karakadzai and interacted with Cde Shingirai Murondatsimba and Cde Martin Kwainona among others.
Upon independence from 1980-2000 he was politically active and provided transport to all ZANU (PF) functions and national events. From 2001 to 2012, he held senior positions in the Bindura district before he was subsequently elected as a ZANU (PF) provincial member in March 2013.
It is this man with such a wealth of experience on the political, social and economic fronts to whom the people of Bindura North look up to for the uplifting of their lives. He has been and is still pursuing a number of developmental projects.
Bindura North Constituency comprises 20 wards. Of the 20 wards, 12 are in Bindura urban while eight are peri-urban rural resettlements. When he was elected as MP in 2013, he ensured that every ward got a block with two classrooms. This he did without using the Constituency Development Fund.
“Hon Musanhi is not only confined to education when it comes to development. In the health sector, he donated laboratory equipment to Bindura Provincial Hospital in 2014, a generator and 5 tonnes of rice and 300 blankets for the patients. There are eight other clinics within the constituency where he also donated 2 tonnes for each one of them,” said Fredrick Nhaka, the Project Manager of the Bindura North Constituency.
Currently, medical doctors are providing free medication at all the clinics in the constituency. Each of the doctors is getting $900 per day, all funded from Hon Musanhi’s pocket.
In Bindura town, there are perennial water shortages due to the exorbitant costs of treating the water. The costs of treating the water are equivalent to those required by Bulawayo City with its huge population.
Then United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) donated 12 boreholes with bush pumps. All the boreholes became dysfunctional until Hon Musanhu chipped in with submersible pumps and 5 000 litre tanks for storing water clean and pure water.
“Bindura was sitting on a health time bomb. The cholera that hit places like Harare, Chitungwiza and Chegutu could have been worse in Bindura if Hon Musanhi had not chipped in with reliable alternative water sources. As we speak, Bindura never recorded a single case of cholera,” said Patrick Masango, the Councillor for War 11 in Bindura North. His ward benefitted some two boreholes from Hon Musanhi.
All the 20 wards commemorate the annual Independence and Heroes’ Days. In return, Hon Musanhi donates a beast for slaughter for each of the wards every year. To avoid dependence syndrome among the constituency, in 2013, he donated two heifers for breeding to every ward.
Within the five years, each of the donated heifers has each three calves. The wards now have a pass-on programme to the extent that most of the households that did not have cattle now possess livestock. At these commemorative events, the constituency now slaughter some of the cattle they own. In return, draught power is now easily available and so is milk and manure.
The department of the war veterans within the constituency was given six heifers as a token of appreciation for the role they played in the liberation struggle. They also received five pigs (female) and one male. For the 20 wards, he donated the same number of pigs. Apart from that, he started a broiler-rearing project for each of the wards.
Hon Musanhi imported Boshveld roadrunner chickens and distributed them to the 20 wards. The eggs are taken back to the hatcheries with a capacity of hatching 20 000 chicks per month.
Before the command fisheries project being spearheaded under the new dispensation, Hon Musanhi had in 2015 started fishery projects within the constituency. That same year, he was at the forefront of keeping Quelea birds in every ward.
In 2016, he introduced the use of organic fertilisers in farming. Due to shortage of artificial fertilisers, the legislator provides the chemicals for making organic fertiliser.
He also provides vegetable seeds to churches and villages. He has been assisting people with paint and roofing material. The elderly and the disadvantaged members of the community are given food hampers at the end of each month.
Hon Musanhu assists the Bindura Rural District Council with fuel to rehabilitate roads that were damaged by bad weather over the years. The people promised to vote for him resoundingly in the 2018 harmonised elections so that he would be able to continue with his development projects.