By Vimbai Nyamukutu & Tanyaradzwa Chigumbu
Aspiring ZANU PF candidate for Ward 9 in Mkoba South Constituency, Ms Sarah Shopera has promised to initiate long-lasting solutions to problems that have grappled the area since the opposition took over the council.
She said the erratic water supply in Villages 1, 2, and 3 is indicative of problems not being addressed justly by the current city fathers.
“Urgent steps should be taken by a person from the ward to get necessary resolutions from the council to make sure challenges faced by residents are addressed.
“The glory of Mkoba needs to be restored by an indigenous person with a clear understanding of how Mkoba used to be a conducive place to stay,” she said.
Water and sewage problems were never a problem but now it’s a nightmare, water on taps is received once in a week. People now resort to fetching water from unsafe sources. It pains me to see suffering to get basic needs like water,” she added.
If voted into council Shopera pledges to push for the reopening of the Mkoba 1 clinic maternity ward with qualified midwifery registered nurses and recent graduate nurses.
“Expecting mothers should have pre and post-natal health care at Mkoba 1 clinic I find it disheartening that women have to walk all the way to Mkoba poly clinic to give birth yet we have a facility meters away from homes,” said the aspiring candidate.
Shopera who is also a gender activist said that she is going to come up with programmes and peer pressure groups that are holistic and survival centered in emancipating teenage mothers as practical solutions in solving violence against young mothers.
“I will empower women, advocate them to go to school because if you are learned you get exposure. I will bring back the clubs where women used to learn different handy works project courses at Mkoba Hall.
She went on to say that when she was growing up Mkoba Hall and Mkoba Swimming Pool used to be a hub of activities but today these activities are no longer there and youths end up taking drugs and dangerous substances. The need to restore these facilities is one of the reasons that has pushed her to run for the office of a councilor for Ward 9.
“Mkoba hall’s status is one of the reasons I have decided to be a candidate for ward 9 because I know Mkoba and the Mkoba I grew up in used to be swings, different clubs like karate, boxing, soccer, and other different activities for the youths. It’s now dead because of the system that is there, when the opposition parties went into power they couldn’t maintain activities that were being done when the council was being run by the ruling party.
“The issue of drugs is because people don’t have anywhere to spend the day and wind time at, let’s take for instance Mkoba swimming pool. We used to go and swim there during our young days but as of today, there are always excuses like the water is not clean and so on. There are no longer recreational facilities for the youth hence they end up partaking in drugs.
” There is a lot of gender discrimination and gender imbalance politically so women should not fear there is nothing to fear about, they should believe in themselves and take the risk no matter how other people see politicians. Women should understand that there are just like men we are humans we should take part in community activities and believe in ourselves.
Sarah was born at Mkoba 1 Clinic, 40 years ago and attended her primary school at St Michaels before going to Mambo High School in Mkoba South Constituency.
After high school, she did a course in Secretarial duties at Top Flight College and later enrolled and went on to study Purchasing and Supply at CIPS in Europe.
Currently, Shopera is studying for a degree in Marketing with ZOU and she proudly holds a post of political commiserate in the party Zanu Pf a role that is usually given to men. #TheSun
