Story by Nixon Nyikadzino
News Correspondent
Residents of Epworth and surrounding areas might not know the origins of this beautiful location where the famous balancing rocks manifest and are used even on the Zimbabwe dollar notes as a symbol of heritage and monumental value.
It is important to note from the onset that this former Methodist church missionary land (part of it) was donated to the newly founded local board in 1986 after rural – urban migration spiked and people found a place they now call home on this land. Today ,Epworth is rated 5th ,as one of the most populous locations in peri-urban Harare.
It is important to understand this history in order to understand the contested issues of land ownership and political contestations by different political parties in the area. The ruling party wants to run Epworth and so is the opposition.
But in Epworth North ,there is still one man standing against all odds,Hon. Zivai Mhetu , a man who has become a beacon of hope ,unity and development in the area and his non-discriminatory approach to his constituency as their representative in the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
In the 2023 harmonised elections, Hon. Zivai Mhetu represented the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change(CCC),while Cde Taurai Kandishaya represented the ruling Zanu pf party. Being a newly created seat after the delimitation exercise,Hon. Mhetu ,a young businessman carved his name in history as the inaugural winner by securing a majority vote against Kandishaya and was under the Electoral law Notices announced as the new Member of Parliament for Epworth North Constituency.
Since then, Hon. Mhetu has never rested nor skip any feedback meeting with his constituency members as he tries to navigate the local authority ,central government bureaucracy and several obstacles to push for development in Epworth North.
It was on a cold Saturday,15 August 2026 ,that this reporter witnessed this man at work as he attended three Feedback meetings in a row in his constituency. His constituency is comprised of ward 1,6 and 7 according to the Epworth local board boundaries and is a dormitory for many.
This reporter has attended Feedback meetings for different members of Parliament and Councilors,who by their nature want to be treated like kings. But on this day ,Hon. Mhetu showed where his leadership resides,the people ,as he asked citizens to mention the challenges they are facing in their area before he could respond. It was a new game changer in town.
Several challenges were raised by constituency members such as lack of access to clean and safe water,poor roads, unpegged residential stands and exorbitant maternity fees charged by local authority clinics for pregnant women,among others.
In his response ,Hon. Mhetu told the gathering that through Parliament he had been pushing for access to water to be drawn from Kunzvi Dam.So far 4km had been completed with pipes installed while a further 18 kms would have pipes installed soon. But in the short term he had sought donations from his willing friends and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority(ZINWA) to drill boreholes in all the three wards he is charged with and six boreholes had been drilled ,two for each ward.
“This is a stop gap measure ,but very soon you will be flourishing in clean and safe water from Kunzvi Dam because your MP is working 24 hrs so that you get clean and safe water”, said Hon. Mhetu with ululation from the gathering.
On roads, Hon. Mhetu informed citizens that Delport road is being resurfaced and will go a long way in temporarily solving the road menace being experienced by commuters, transporters and other service providers.
Through Parliament ,the Honourable promised mothers present that he would push till death for the scrapping of this fee since it was a burden to expecting mothers and was beyond the reach of many.
“In the meantime, I will make sure that the fee is reduced drastically down to say $10”, Mhetu quipped.
He went on, promising the gathering that he was working tirelessly to ensure that the local board housing department urgently visits homesteads for pegging and that no demolitions would take place in his constituency till every household has been regularised.
One citizen raised a question about lack of electricity in the area of which Hon. Mhetu explained that priority had been given to electrifying Schools first in order to give his constituency a digital edge to the school going children.
“In this digital edge ,kids need electricity to be on their computers and learn smart. Right now we have completed electrifying Mabvazuva School and will be doing the same in Ward 1 and 6. After that we will push for the broader home electifications”, Hon. Mhetu promised.
As Zimbabwe sits on high unemployment rate which is now ubiquitous in different areas including Epworth,Hon Mhetu appraised his constituency members of efforts already underway to build a vocational college for the youth ,young women and mothers. This he said would empower citizens with different skill sets . He said the stumbling block currently was the local board which is delaying in allocating them a piece of land to construct the centre.
” We managed to get well wishers from abroad who are willing to help us on this initiative. Once completed and citizens are empowered, I ,your representative will be responsible for your job placements”, bellowed Mhetu.
Parents were concerned about the continued sending back of children by School heads for children who would have failed to pay school fees particularly those on the Basic Education Assistance Module(BEAM). Whilst it is a nationwide, government-led social safety net programme designed to pay school fees, levies, and examination costs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who cannot afford primary or secondary education,government has often delayed in disbursing funds to Schools and leaving schools with no alternative but to send children under BEAM back home.
“No child under BEAM should be sent home for not paying school fees because it is not their responsibility to do so and through Parliament we are busy pushing government to disburse such funds before Schools open”, Mhetu vowed.
He warned against drug and substance abuse in his constituency and anywhere and informed his constituency that he was in talks with different partners to build a rehabilitation centre in order to deal with drug abuse.
As a final gesture ,which he had shown in Ward 1 and 6, Hon. mhetu informed constituency members present that government had donated 60 bags of rice to be distributed equally among members.
And it was in Ward 7 where the final rice distribution took place transparently with the help of marshalls and constituency leaders.
As darkness was beginning to swallow the light,at around 5pm ,the man of the people,Hon. mhetu waved a good bye to the citizens as he promised to regularly come back and update on other new developments.