Zimbabweans interrogate their MPs’ use of Constituency Development Fund
With Parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of this month, we’ve been wondering how to interrogate Zimbabwe’s outgoing Members of Parliament and learn some lessons from their track record. Particularly in cases where an outgoing MP is running for office again, we’re wondering why their constituents might want to vote for them again – or why they definitely won’t.
With this in mind, Kubatana asked our subscribers how their exiting Member of Parliament used the Constituency Development Fund between 2008-2013 to benefit their community.
We got around 300 replies, from subscribers in 130 of Zimbabwe’s 210 constituencies. Their feedback was mixed, as was the track record of their Members of Parliament in using the Constituency Development Fund. Around one-tenth of respondents did not know how their CDF had been used. Around two-thirds did not think it had been used for anything constructive (or had barely been used). And about 30% of respondents were impressed with how their MP had used the fund, and noted this as a worth accomplishment.
It’s important to note that this is crowdsourced information – So it hasn’t been verified with the MP in question or with any public record or audit of the Constituency Development Fund. This also means that it speaks to how thoroughly an MP communicated with his or her constituency. In Bikita West, for example, two subscribers said nothing tangible was done for the constituency with the fund, but three reported the MP fixing schools, building clinics and sinking boreholes.
A few sample responses include:
- Mutare South, he brought us a truck of roller meal and sold us@ $2.50 for 10Kg only once. Also employed us at his farm and paid us one gallon of maize per day.
- In Chipinge central MP Alice Chitima of Zanu pf hapana zvaakaita (did nothing). GO CHITIMA GO! I DONT CARE
- Mhondoro Ngezi, we never saw anything. Taingonzwa pa tv chete kuti kune mari yakadaro asi chayakashanda hatina kuchiona. Hamheno pamwe vedu mp vamatonga havana kupihwa mari yacho. (WE only heard on TV that such a fund exists. What it was used for we don’t know. Maybe our MP Matonga was not given the money)
- Chitungwiza South Constituency. Drilled 6 boreholes, bought a printer, built a flea market, removed raw/solid waste. The fifty thousand dollars was used to the last cent.
- Haina kubatsira vanhu mu Kadoma asi yakashanda kwaari MP CDF fund (The money did not benefit the people in Kadoma but the MP himself)
- Wakadya yose chivi central (He spent it all on himself)
- Bulawayo. I stay in Mpopoma-Pelandaba district, our MP Mr S. Khumalo used cdf in schools for repairing chairs, desks and repairing residential chairs and benches, about $11000 is still in the bank.
You can access the full list of responses here. And you can take a look at a map of selected responses here.
Tuesday, July 9th 2013 at 5:13 pm
Mutare West: There were project in every ward. In Ward 10 there was rehabilitation of Marange Clinic, a new ceiling, doors and painting were done and the remainder for the allocation in that Ward fenced Muangirwa Primary School, In Ward 16 there was the building of a classroom block at Mafararikwa Primary School. CDF bought material and parents supplied labour, We also fenced Nzvenga school. In Ward 18 a toilet was built at Matanda Clinic and a water pump was repaired at the same clinic and now there is water at the clinic. In Ward 17, there was completion of a classroom block at Nharira School that was initiated by parents and CDF completed the project, In Ward 19, there was rehabilitation of Bwizi clinic and Nzvenga Clinic. There was electrification of Chikwariro Clinic and the nurses houses and now there is electricity because CDF also paid for the meter and inspection in Ward 24. There was a new borehole in Ward 29 and a classroom block was built at Chipindirwe in Ward 30. A new generator was bought for St Andrews Clinic in Ward 25. The project done are many because the community was asked to submit their requests through councillors and the councillors and the MP would decide which ones to do. The community was asked to monitor the councillors and the beneficiaries were asked to sign for receiving the materials and at completion of projects. The councillors did most of the work in their Wards and the MP held meetings with the schools and clinics. The MP used this platform to campaign as well because that is what he talks about at his campaign rallies and we are reminded over and over again what he did. But we are happy he used the CDF properly though.