Staff Reporter

Aspiring Citizens Coalition for Change candidate for Zhombe Constituency Benson Ntini has said the rural populace in Zhomber has been neglected for a long time.

Ntini speaking in an interview recently said infrastructure development in rural areas like Zhombe has been stagnant as it is not being prioritized.

“Zhombe should have been more than what it is now. What we have now is a lot of deterioration in terms of services, infrastructure, and general livelihood. People are suffering they are struggling to survive and there is no one out there looking out for them,” he said.

“I decided to involve myself in the struggle to bring back development in Zhombe after talks with President Nelson Chamisa who motivated me to see that development is achieved through active participation. I involved myself in the development of Zhombe since 2018 to address some of the issues like roads and the provision of clean safe water. The people in Zhombe then chose me to run for office,” he said.

He said the little development that trickles to the rural areas mostly comes when high-profile politicians visit the area.

“On the issue of roads, you find that most times when they are spruced up it is because a highly profiled person is coming. For example, when Amai Mnangagwa visits you see that the roads are scarped for her to have a smooth journey but what about the villagers in Zhombe who use these non-existent roads all their lives/,” he said.

Ntini said for 43 years Zhombe had Zanu PF legislators who dismally failed to uplift the area.

“Zanu had legislators in Zhombe for the better chunk of 43 years but they never raised issues of development in parliament. They have been quiet and even in the local authority they have failed to articulate issues at the hearts of the rural populace,” he said.