The Sunday Mail
When the time finally comes for him to meet his Maker, as we all shall, how will the world remember Cde Masango Matambanadzo?
“Blackman” — as he is known by friends and foes alike — could be thought of as Zanu-PF’s National Assembly representative for Kwekwe Central, one of a select group of ruling party MPs who have managed to secure an urban seat in the past 14 years.
Others will see him as the Grade 2 dropout who went on to become a successful businessman and politician in his own right.
For some, he is “Blackman”, a man with skin so dark he looks like two moonless midnights put together.
And others still will recall him as the Zanu-PF cadre who allegedly unleashed violence on a fellow MP, Gokwe-Kana’s Cde Owen “Mudha” Ncube, and at least one other party official — a security one for that matter.
Twice in two weeks, Blackman was in the news for all the wrong reasons. And in these volatile times of factionalism as Zanu-PF heads towards its elective Congress in December, the rumour mill went into overdrive.
After all, Blackman and Mudha were known to have been quite close not so long ago.
Blackman says the source of his differences with Mudha has nothing to do with alleged factionalism. Rather, he claims, some people are uneasy about the “great” work he is doing in his constituency and in Midlands province in pursuance of Government’s empowerment agenda.
“Most of the companies in Midlands province were closed down at the height of the economic meltdown and most of the people who are still at the helm of these companies and industries are agents of imperialism who do not want to see these companies opening anytime soon.
“Many youths in the province had found refuge in the informal sector especially in artisanal mining for survival; hence political leaders should desist from interfering with their (artisanal miners’) mining activities.
“They (political leaders in the province) should actually be supportive of such overtures rather than being suppressive of such efforts for their selfish gain.
“So yes, that is the source of my differences with some people. But I respect the political authority at provincial level and also at national level.”
Blackman Matambanadzo insists he is not a violent fellow, despite Press reports to the contrary.
“Kwekwe Central did not record a single case of political violence in the two instances I have participated in the National Assembly elections in 2008 and again in 2013, and the arresting authorities have those records to that effect.”
Away from the drama, which the police are handling, his is a rags-to-riches story.
He tells anyone who cares to listen that he is a Grade 2 dropout who first worked as a gardener and as a photographer. Somehow, all this led to him being an MP.
His temperament, like many men with similar tales, is on the volatile side and before interviewing him, one must first gauge the mood and then ease carefully into the dialogue.
The Sunday Mail Extra last week had an appointment with him at his Amaveni shopping complex that is omniously called Bloodspot.
It was at Bloodspot that the media reported a little blood was spilt in Blackman’s alleged altercations with political rivals.
But he was not in on day one, despite the prior arrangement. Twenty-four hours later, he signalled that he was ready to talk.
Before even sitting down in his office, he had already started singing the Blackman’s praises.
“The people of Kwekwe remember. When they voted for me they were merely reciprocating what we had done for them during the years of the economic downturn when I single-handedly complemented Government efforts in paying teachers and nurses’ salaries,” he claims.
He believes Midlands can have a billion-dollar economy driven by mining and steel.
And how exactly will this happen?
“I would need some concessions from the tax authorities (Zimra) for rebates when I start my sojourn to China which I believe is currently the only place which can offer the country economical salvation,” he says.
He has many ideas that somehow all come back to his billion-dollar Midlands economy scheme.
“That is why we have started an empowerment scheme aimed at pooling together over 5 000 members who would each pay US$1 daily towards a housing scheme.
“I would want to make sure that we construct (5 000) houses during my five-year tenure because I realised that no single house has been built in Kwekwe since the ‘80s when I built my first house using only US$27.
“I have realised that levels of South African imports done by Zimbabweans are actually at par with the production levels in that country . . . That is the reason why we have to turn to the Chinese, as we have realised that their goods are much cheaper due to their low cost of production.”
