THE MTHWAKAZI Republic Party has challenged villagers to contribute towards the salaries of traditional leaders to ensure that they are not captured by “some Zanu PF” elements in the government.
MRP spokesperson Velile Moyo bemoaned the politicisation of the traditional leadership structures in violation of the Constitution.
“We want the traditional leaders to be paid by the community members because they are answerable to the locals not to the government in Harare,” Moyo told party supporters at a homestead in Tsholotsho over the weekend.
This was after the police had banned their meeting that was supposed to be held at Mbambangamandla business centre.
“If we have a chief here, as a community, we must see to it that our chief is paid by us not by the government, because if they are paid by the government, the governement treat them like chickens and they are forced to bow to it all the time so that they get salaries” Moyo said.
“If we know that the village head is paid by us, it is us who have the mandate to send him and tell him what we want him to do for us instead of this case where they are controlled by the Zanu PF governemnt.”
The Constitution says chiefs must be apolitical.
Chapter 15:1 on traditional leaders says traditional leaders must “observe the rules pertaining to traditional leadership and exercise their functions for the purposes for which the institution of traditional leadership is recognised by this Constitution and treat all persons within their areas equally and fairly.”
Chapter 15.2 adds: “Traditional leaders must not be members of any political party or in any way participate in partisan politics, act in a partisan manner, further the interests of any political party or cause or violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of any person.”