Gwanda welcomes appointment

By Mvelo Mthiyane Zondo

GWANDA villagers and residents have welcomed the appointment of their Member of Parliament, Dr Omphile Marupi who was recently appointed to deputise one of the most powerful ministries in the country.

Dr Marupi who is Gwanda South MP was appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services with two other deputy ministers
The appointments were announced by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya through a statement.

The three deputy ministers are Dr Marupi, Sheila Chikomo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Benjamin Kabikira, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works.
For his appointment, Dr Marupi thanked President Emmerson Mnangagwa for trusting him that he can deliver as the deputy minister.

“I am happy and thankful for being appointed to be the deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services. The President Emmerson Mnangagwa has faith and trust in me that I can deliver hence the appointment,” said Dr Marupi.

He went on to say what he promised in his manifesto will now be easily fulfilled because of his closeness to the cabinet.

Chief Marupi, who is a close relative to Dr Marupi said leadership runs in their veins.

“Congratulations to my brother and MP, who is now a deputy minister.

As Marupi, leadership qualities in our blood, we were born natural leaders.

We thank President Mnangagwa for recognising him. This will see more development coming to our area and the province,” said Chief Marupi.

Villages from his home area in Buvuma, Ward 18 under Chief Marupi welcomed and applauded the appointment.

“This is wonderful, as Buvuma villagers we are very grateful that our son who is now a Minister. This means he can now talk direct with the President and tell him that we do not have access to clean water, no roads and no network.

“Asengamhlophe and congratulations to Omphile,” said elderly Siphosisiwe Sibanda.

Dingani Nare also from the same village was hopeful that the network challenges will now be a thing of the past.

“We do not have any network coverage here and the appointment of MP Marupi to the ministerial position gives us hope.

“As a former radio personality he knows better when we tell him that there is no communication here. We rely of foreign networks, which is not good for us,” said Nare.

Dr Marupi is a former broadcaster, linguist and community developer with experience in various fields.

He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in English and Comparative Literature from Fort Hare University in South Africa.

His academic achievements also include a Master of Science in Strategic Communication from the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), a Master of Arts in African Languages and Culture, a postgraduate degree in Higher and Tertiary Education, a Bachelor of Arts Special Honours in Communication and Media Studies.

He attended Buvuma and Bethel Primary Schools in Gwanda District. Marupi continued his studies at Zezani Secondary School in Beitbridge District for his Ordinary level and completed his A-level education at Tennyson Hlabangana High School.

Dr Marupi made a name for himself as a broadcaster, commencing his career with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in 2000.

Over the years, he demonstrated his abilities and progressed within the organization, eventually assuming the position of Head of Montrose Studios in Bulawayo.

It is worth noting that despite winning Zanu PF primary elections in 2018, he was replaced by Abedinico Ncube the then Zanu PF parliamentary candidate for the Gwanda South Constituency.