Independent Candidate Promises to Represent Youths

By Mandla Tshuma

BULAWAYO – Independent candidate for Bulawayo City Council’s Ward 14 in Monday’s polls, Nkosana Mazibisa, has said he would represent youth interests in local government once voted into office.

Mazibisa who turns 30 this year, said he grew up in Lobengula. He said he believed that the 2018 polls were about young people exercising their democratic rights.

“The year 2018 is about young people participating so that we lay the foundation for the second, third and fourth generation republicans. If we do not participate it means 20 years from now there will be no leaders when part of the old guard would not be participating,” he told Votewatch263.

He said once voted into Council, he would include the young people, the old, the less privileged and disabled people in decision-making.

“We will come up with different approaches to problems in the community as long as everyone is included,” Mazibisa said.

He said he would address the problem of burst sewer pipes which was a result of old pipes and congestion in the Ward. Mazibisa said he would also ensure that the city’s heroes were given due recognition.

“Some of our roads need to be named after our local heroes for example in Ward 14, we had our mayor Arthur Lee Ncube and up to today, no road is named after him yet he is one of the founding fathers of the early municipality in Bulawayo after the country’s independence. We need to celebrate that,” he said.

The 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow, said he would ensure that the money allocated to the Ward was used to benefit all residents in Ward 14.

“Currently we have US$21 000 and that money has to be used through youth projects and youth infrastructure. We have women’s crafts centre in the community which was privatized by some individuals but we feel as young people we need to reclaim that,” he said.

Mazibisa said the 2018 polls were different from the previous ones which had made his participation easy.

“One thing that I like about 2018 polls is that it is not about parties but individuals who have lived with communities and who can deliver. I started to campaign right after the Nomination Court. I have run a door-to-door campaign and Ward speaking engagements,” he elaborated.