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By Staff Reporter
LOCAL Government Minister July Moyo who is making another parliamentary bid for Redcliff constituency has upped his campaign game, courting former migrant workers’ votes.
Moyo’s bid in 2018 was stalled when his then employee Lloyd Mukapiko trumped him in the elections.
He has since renewed his interest to represent Redcliff including former migrants from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, who constitute a substantial voter percentage in Redcliff.
The former migrant workers were lured to Redcliff by Ziscosteel, the then biggest integrated African steelworks.
“I know you have your own chiefs such as Chief Muponda, Chief Gomani, Chief Jalasi and Chief Chivaura amongst others. We equally respect these chiefs as we respect our own here in Zimbabwe. You are the custodians of our cultural values,” Moyo said in his recent meeting with the former migrant workers.
He added: “The President directed me to meet you so that we hear your concerns. Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia share a special relationship from the days of Federation and we still enjoy those relations. You are a very special part of the Zimbabwean tapestry.”
Moyo added that Mnangagwa’s government has regularized the stay of former migrants who were disenfranchised from voting.
“We realized that our migrants from Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique were not recognized and not regarded as citizens by the old dispensation. When the President assumed power he changed that and ensured that everyone is granted the status of being Zimbabwean,” he said.
