Some MPs from both Zanu PF and MDC-T are pushing for the government to implement a policy which would make it compulsory for all couples to have a minimum of 8 children. Some of the MPs cited the need to have more soldiers to defend the nation while others said that the nation needed more people in order to develop and fully utilise the resources at its disposal.
Mashonaland West Senator Mike Byton Musaka moved a motion which partly states:
Now, therefore, this House resolves that the Zimbabwe Government should encourage large families as follows; (a) Give incentives to families to have a minimum of eight children; (b) NGOs and organisations promoting birth control should now be requested to promote family growth.
Zanu PF Chegutu-Mhondoro Senator Hilda Bhobho supported the motion saying:
In our time, we gave birth to a number of children. If our generation comes to pass, there will be no children.
…We are saying, those of child bearing age should bear more children, not one or two because we need these children to be in the Defence Forces.
Mashonaland East Senator Rosemary Goto also added that more children made it easy for families to be more productive when doing work saying:
If people are few in a country it is not a nation.
My husband always says a child is a goblin because when we were in the fields with the children during school holidays, we would finish work on one hectare in no time. If you have one child, it will take time for you to finish ploughing a hectare.
MDC-T senator Morgen Komichi compared small families to recolonisation saying:
When we de-colonised Africa and won the liberation struggle, they sat down with IMF and World Bank and they came up with human rights issues and started teaching our women and children that you do not need to have many children because of the cost of living. That is a lie.
More: New Zimbabwe
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