ONE of the country’s traditional leaders has told government to give them more freebies for them to earn respect from their subjects.
The new demands come hardly a month after President Emerson Mnangagwa promised to hand over top-of-the-range cars to the chiefs in a gesture he said was meant to make sure that they help Zanu PF win elections later this year.
However, Chief Svosve of Hwedza said traditional leaders deserved more.
“We have MPs (Members of Parliament) given cars to work with so why should we not be given cars, loans and seating allowances,” Svosve told NewsDay on the sidelines of an agriculture field day in Hwedza on Thursday.
“Chiefs should be treated with respect and be given more perks.
“In fact, we are being short-changed as we should be treated as kings and given spacious houses and bodyguards to protect us.”
Svosve said they want barricaded castles.
“Back in the day, kings and chiefs commanded respect and it was not easy to access the chief because of his barricaded kingdoms,” he said.
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“That’s what we want.”
Chief Svosve said government should also bestow them with powers to arrest and punish sex offenders.
“We don’t condone sex offenders and people who indulge in early marriages as well as people who snatch other people’s wives,” Svosve said.
“The government should entrust us with the powers to arrest and punish these offenders.”
Ironically, Council of Chiefs President and Pan African Parliament chairman Chief Fortune Charumbira is being accused of reportedly sexually assaulting his niece.
