Binga Takes Centre Stage In Devolution- Welshman’s MDC

Zim Eye

By Zim Eye Reporter

20 July 2013

Binga- Welshman Ncube’s MDC party is continuing with its campaign in rural and small towns of Zimbabwe in an effort to deliver its campaign message, ‘Devolution is our new revolution’

Today, the party anchors its ship in Binga where it says it has  successfully made the local language Tonga to be officially recognized, taught and examined in schools.

MDC Spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube speaking ahead of the Binga meeting where the party is to launch its manifesto said:

“Today the MDC will be launching it’s policy and manifesto documents in Binga. It is not an accident that we are doing this in this remote part of our country, it is a statement of intent and a celebration of diversity, celebrating the work done by many of our comrades such as Minister David Coltart who has worked tirelessly to make Tonga a recognized, taught and examined language. The policy and manifesto launch goes by the theme Devolution is Our New Revolution.”

When MDC’s David Coltart took over the Education portfolio in February 2009 he immediately declared that minority languages “deserve to be taught and spoken especially at schools where they are most predominant”.

“I am committed to minority languages. All indigenous languages are going to be taught in schools and for the first time, you are going to get books in indigenous languages,” Coltart said.

Future testing will also be done in other minority languages including Kalanga, Venda, Shangaan, Chewa (Nyanja), Nambya and Sotho.

Devolution has been one of the contentious issues in the just concluded new constitution  exercise, with a number of regions in the country crying foul that they are marginalized, feel dominated by central government and have seen very little or no development at all in their communities since independence in 1980.