BY RICHARD MUPONDE
Mangwe’s newly elected MP Hlalani Mguni has vowed to use her position to champion women empowerment and complete projects initiated by her late husband in the constituency.
Mguni is the widow of late Zanu PF legislator Obedingwa Mguni, who died early this year.
She won the by-election held recently ahead of MDC Alliance candidate Vincent Sihlabo.
Mguni said women formed the backbone of her support base and pledged to advance their interests in Parliament.
“The victory is a victory for the party Zanu PF and the people of Mangwe as a whole regardless of party affiliation,” she said.
“It’s a victory for women and the girl child in the constituency.
“I am going to dedicate my time in Parliament fighting for women empowerment so that they are economically empowered and so goes for the girl child.”
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Mguni said access to education and health facilities was also another area she would focus on during her tenure.
“This was my late husband’s passion. He wanted children from this constituency to get an education and desist from skipping the border to do menial jobs,” the new MP added.
“That passion saw him paying school fees for a number of disadvantaged children in the constituency and also take up construction of clinics and schools. This will be my priority area as the local legislator.”
Mguni was paying fees for 15 pupils at Bulu Secondary School whom he had tracked down to Botswana where they had skipped the border to do menial jobs after completing Grade 7.
One of the students who was already pregnant when they returned has since given birth and is now back at school.
The former Home Affairs deputy minister had also initiated the tarring of the of the Plumtree-Mphoengs Road, which he said would help attract tourists for fishing at Ingwizi Dam and viewing of the recently discovered cave paintings by San people.
A few tourists visit Ingwizi Dam for fishing.
The late Mguni also lobbied the government to build the state-of-the-art Mkgambo High School, which is now serving children that used to walk between 15km and 50km to school.
