Hatfield Constituency questions MP’s attitude

Ward 22 residents have been looking for their Member of Parliament in a bid to understand his programme for Hatfield Constituency which combines Ward 22 (Hatfield, Msasa Park, Chadcombe, Queensdale, Cranborne and surrounding suburbs) and Ward 23 (Waterfalls).

Suburban Reporter

Of late the residents have been wondering where their MP Rewayi Nyamuronda is hiding because he is hardly visible in the constituency and even on the residents’ online groups.

The residents said it was disheartening that Mr Nyamuronda was anonymous in the constituency yet some of his colleagues in Epworth were energetic and pushing for road repairs in their wards using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Under the CDF, MPs are allocated money to fund development in their constituencies and they have to sit down with their constituents and other stakeholders such as the councillors, Senators and the community to discuss and agree on the projects they should prioritise. A committee comprising the representatives and voters is chosen to spearhead the use of the CDF funding.

Ward 22 residents said they had no clue as to where their MP was and what he was up to with the constituency allocation under the CDF. Suggestions were made that Mr Nyamuronda’s problem was that he did not stay in the constituency unlike Ward 22 Councillor Clemence Maimba who has been at the forefront of attending to residents’ inquiries over water, roads and other service delivery issues.

“That’s the disadvantage of having an MP not residing within your area. Check how the Councillor is doing. It’s because he stays here and feels the pain. But if you are not within you don’t feel it,” said one resident.

Some said the MP’s inaction was the result of voting for politicians who are unknown in the area bemoaning the fact that voters had repeated the same mistake like when they voted Mr Tapiwa Mashakada under the MDC Alliance ticket but who was largely inactive in the constituency during his tenure as Member of Parliament for Hatfield.

However, some residents pointed out that the MP was in fact on the Ward 22 residents’ WhatsApp group but was just not responding to voters’ inquiries.

It was also pointed out that there was a day in November last year when the group chat was reserved for Mr Nyamuronda to engage with residents over the 2024 National Budget proposals presented by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube before Parliament approved the budget.

The residents said the MP was quite a mature person who engages people professionally but fellow Hatfield constituents said they did not need to hear that from their neighbours but from the MP himself since he was on the group.

Hatfield voters demanded Mr Nyamuronda to enlighten them on his plans under the CDF outlining the projects he intended to fund with the money and brief them on what he had done or achieved since his election as MP for the area.

When the MP kept silent, residents felt it was unfair because the questions they were asking were not political but genuine citizenry concerns.

The discussion was told that voters had every right to ask him the questions because the CDF money was not his money but voters’ money and he must be accountable to them as a community.

The platform was opened for residents to engage the MP but their concerns found no responses until some advised that people should not have any hopes about the MP doing anything because they were going to hope for a long time but with nothing coming through.

“Does this MP even reads these messages; does he even care for this constituency? Does he even know why we voted for him?” asked one Hatfield voter.

Residents requested Cllr Maimba to organise a meeting with Mr Nyamuronda so that they get to understand his plans for the constituency.

Frustrated residents ended up asking how they could have Mr Nyamuronda recalled or how they could pass a vote of no confidence in him.

“What is required to sign a ‘vote of no confidence’ petition (against) the MP?” said another voter.

In neighbouring Ward 23, Waterfalls residents have of late been wondering if Councillor Stanley Manyenga is still their representative in council because he has not been active in the ward and does not bother to respond to residents’ inquiries on service delivery issues.

The residents say a lot of service delivery issues are going unaddressed in Ward 23 comprising Parktown, Mainway Meadows, Prospect, Cheviot, Picnic Park, Uplands, Grobbie Park, Derbyshire, Shortstone while their councillor is nowhere to be seen.

According to the residents, Cllr Manyenga is not proactive and does not take the initiative to update residents on any service delivery issues in Ward 23. Some even suggested the recalling of Cllr Manyenga or passing a vote of no confidence in him because he was not doing his work as councillor.