BY BRYSON CHEDENGA
Zanu PF Murewa West candidate Farai Jere has pledged to pay school fees to pupils in 31 primary schools in the constituency irrespective of their parent’s political affiliation as he eyes the parliamentary seat.
Jere is making use of traditional leaders as the media to transmit his message.
In a video seen by ChaminukaNews24 chairperson of Chitopi Kraal village heads Nicholas Chakawarika said:
“I was sent by Jere to 31 schools in Murehwa West soliciting their enrolment and fees per child excluding pupils under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) from Grade 1 to 7 irrespective of political affiliation. Jere said everyone should benefit.”
Nicholas Chakawarika
When contacted for follow-up questions Jere said he would call.
But in a statement, he said it was all systems go as he gathered enrolment statistics and fees per child.
“The exercise has been finalized and we will be rolling out the school fees to all these schools starting Monday next week. What delayed the process was due to government policy for carrying out social responsibility in Zimbabwe. We had to get cleared by various government offices before the project commencement. We have been approved by all necessary offices and cleared to pay the school fees,” .
he said
“Please note we will not be selective of whose child we pay for. All the children will have access to free Primary Education in my constituency. Education is one of the fundamental rights of children. I for one believe that if I was not educated I would have not been where I am today. For this reason, it is my dream that every child gets a fair chance in life.
Nicholas Chakawarika
Citizens Coalition for Change spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere vowed that her party would end Zanu PF dominance in its rural constituencies.
“We will leave no stone unturned to ensure we win every constituency where we’ve fielded a candidate. We are focused on ensuring our campaign wins the hearts and minds of citizens as we lay out our plans to usher in a New Great Zimbabwe that has prosperity, dignity, and freedom for all,”
she said.
Political Analyst Kudakwashe Munemo said although this would be a good gesture from a humanitarian perspective, effort must be focused on pushing the government to simply implement free and/or affordable education for all.
“Additionally, this shows how some traditional leaders, who must be non-partisan, are being abused and are complicit in the use of political patronage as a way to assume political power. Without a level political playing field and governance on political party/activity activities, Zanu PF will continue to maintain the governing monopoly,”
he said.
