IN 2007 the Government decided to wean off then Lower Guruve, which was part of
Guruve District and establish a fully-fledged district, which was renamed Mbire.
The district, a stand-alone political constituency, remains the youngest, richest in
terms of natural resources including mineral resources, yet to be explored, but it is
the poorest at the moment.
Mbire District boasts of expansive valleys with abundant species of wild animals one
might think of in Africa.
Elephants, lions, hyenas and leopards patrol freely in the valley while crocodiles and
hippos are always in a drinking festival along the mighty Zambezi River.
The district has a sparse population and houses the minority Doma people. It only
has a district council office instead of all government departments.
Yearly, people in the district depend on food hand-outs from the Government and
partners for survival. The area hardly receives adequate rains and when it does, it
usually ends up in floods that destroy human lives, crops and livestock.
The district has a high child marriage rate and cases of teenage pregnancies. A
scourge incoming, Member of Parliament and Mbire businessman, David Butau, has
red ticked.
He said: “I come from a peasant background and I am very alive to the issues
around early childhood marriages. It is not an easy task to deal with. Our
socialisation is still heavily patriarchal, where in some cases girl children grow up
with a very low self-esteem. Consequently they develop an aspiration that the sooner
they get married the sooner they can have control over their own lives.
“In my world, it is the opposite, a girl child must be encouraged to aspire to be
professional and only look at marriage proposition as a choice to be made by a fully
grown adult.”
He said Mbire parents also need to be educated that the girl child is not an economic
asset that need to be sold off to earn an income.
“Additionally, parents must not see their children in terms of one gender being more
superior to the other. I think that more resources must be channeled towards the
department of women's affairs to embark on a continuous learning process that
educates parents about the importance of ensuring that girl children are given equal
opportunities as boy children,” he said.
Butau further implored the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation and partners
to establish as many youth friendly corners as they can across the country, where
they can have adolescence sexual reproductive health meetings with youths and
school them on the dangers of engaging in sexual activities at tender ages resulting
in teenage pregnancies.
He called for the establishment of more schools in the constituency where child
marriages have been linked mainly to school drop outs.
A Ministry of Education report in the hands of this publication notes that girls in Mbire
dropped out of school more than their male counterparts, especially during the
Covid-19 era.

Some of the girls became pregnant during the era and when schools opened they
could not afford the distances to and from school daily due to their conditions.
The report states that in some instances, pupils walk about 34km to and from school
daily, especially those in their secondary education.
As a remedy, Butau is proposing that private players: corporates, churches and
individuals invest in the education sector in his constituency.
He said: “Mbire still has a long way to go to reach adequate levels of educational
facilities. Besides primary and secondary schools, we have to also fight for relevant
vocational training facilities.
“I don't believe that this is an area where a Member of Parliament should only focus
on the central government for support. The private sector has a huge role to play,
especially given the fact that in general, budget outturn has been hovering around 40
percent.”
He said that Central Government has robust plans to invest in educational and
health institutions in the constituency and district but the reality is that it has a
constrained fiscal space to cover the whole country let alone Mbire.
Butau undertook to reach out to other corporate and social partners to play a bigger
role in the development of both educational and health facilities in Mbire.
Turning to people in his constituency, who are surviving on food handouts yearly,
Butau said: “The question of food handouts is a complex one. On the one hand you
don't want people to go hungry, while on the other hand the issue of handouts
undermines family dignity.
“It's also a phenomenon linked to economic development. Most aid focuses on
donating rather than empowering communities to engage in sustainable economic
activities such as crop husbandry, livestock and fishing.
“Another aspect that must not be taken lightly is the issue of ensuring that
educational facilities provide at least one meal a day to all learners.”
Butau urged parents not to abuse their children.
He said while domestic chores engender a sense of responsibility in a child, they
should take less than 15 percent of a child’s time because children must have time
for social interaction, but most importantly time to study.
“I am presently engaging a number of corporate leaders to see how much they can
contribute towards the deployment of solar power for children so that they can have
evening studies. In some cases some television channels provide beneficial learning
platforms.
Butau said he is dedicated to improving the education sector during his term of
office.
“One of the most topical subjects in the last election was the issue of school blocks,
while others were genuinely urging for the development of these classroom blocks,
some wanted the issue to come through as non-delivery in spite of the processes
that have to be followed through the local authorities.
“It is my commitment not only to complete projects that I started eight years ago, but
to initiate new ones. I have a very supportive provincial and national leadership,” he
promised.
He said as an avid supporter of agriculture as one of the key industries in Mbire he
was also optimistic that completion of the Dande Dam will have the effect of

introducing a dual cropping season instead of the current model where families rely
on a monocrop model. The Dande Dam and possibly a second reservoir on the
Mhanyame River have the potential to boost agricultural production by more than 30
percent and additionally boost tourism. In the case of Chitsungo and Bwazi Monozi,
the completion of the Dande Dam and damming of Mhanyame River will eliminate
the perennial problem of flooding in the areas.
He also said he was unconditionally appreciative of the endorsement that President
Mnangagwa received in election.
“It is very important to express my gratitude to the constituency of Mbire for their
support. Without the resounding election of President Mnangagwa my own election
would be subdued because any Member of Parliament relies on both provincial and
national leadership in ensuring service delivery. I am very appreciative of the support
I received.”
He said the endorsement impels him to complete old projects and ensure that they
are new projects in the pipeline.