Aspiring legislator pledges to resuscitate Chipinge Central dairy

The Joice Mujuru-led People's Rainbow Coalition candidate for Chipinge Central, Shingi Mathabuka, has pledged to resuscitate small-scale dairy farming and coffee production in the constituency in order to create employment in the underdeveloped district.

Mathabuka told NewsDay yesterday that he was optimistic of winning the seat at the end of the month.

"I am worried with the high unemployment rate in Chipinge Central and country at large. I grew up here in Chipinge and the situation is getting worse. We have educated youths who are failing to get jobs," he said.

"I want to create employment by making sure companies that get raw materials from Chipinge also offer employment to locals, especially companies like Tanganda and Border Timbers.

"The small-scale dairy farming and coffee projects once thrived in Chipinge, but I am hoping to revive the industry through the influence that I am going to have when I am elected into office.

"We have many fruits in Chipinge that can bring foreign currency into the country, but our people do not have viable markets for the many fruits that we have."

The aspiring MP also said he was concerned with the state of roads in the constituency and promised to influence central government to revamp the transport network.

The businessman said he managed to create jobs through his enterprises in Chipinge.

"So far, I have managed to create jobs through my enterprises in Chipinge, but we want to do it at a large scale because many youths are jobless," he said.

Mathabuka will battle it out with incumbent Zanu-PF MP Raymore Machingura, Livingstone Dhlumo of MDC Alliance, Maremudze Notion from the Zimbabwe Partnership for Prosperity and Robert Dube of the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T.