Collins Mnangagwa To Give Mbare’s Matapi Flats A Facelift

Collins Takunda Mnangagwa, son of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has launched a major renovation of Matapi Flats in Mbare under his ED AID1 initiative.

Matapi comprises 14 blocks of three-storey flats, one of Harare’s oldest high-density housing complexes.

Mnangagwa has deployed an assessment team led by the project’s chief executive, Brian Pande, alongside Taurai Pande, Chamunorwa Marufu and Prince Munyaradzi Munangwa.

The team has since contracted workers to carry out plumbing and painting works at the flats.

Speaking to The Herald, Pande commended Mnangagwa for the intervention, saying it would improve living conditions for residents in Mbare.

“We recently visited the flats after Eng Mnangagwa sent us to assess what needs to be done. We have now begun the work; this is the beginning of the project,” Pande said.

“The people here are happy. We aim to renovate all the flats in and around this area in line with the mantra of leaving no place and no one behind.”

Opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume said the Matapi Flats facelift was typical of President Mnangagwa and his administration.

“It’s all about them. CAB is about his hold on to power. He and his children and the oligarchs do everything!” wrote Ngarivhume on Facebook.

“CAB” refers to Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, a far-reaching piece of legislation which, among other provisions, seeks to extend the term of office for the President and Members of Parliament from five years to seven.

If passed, CAB3 will push President Mnangagwa’s expected departure from 2028 to 2030.

On 4 May 2021, Ngarivhume was stopped and arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police while leading a clean-up campaign in Mbare.

He was spearheading a highly publicised community sanitation drive to clear heaps of refuse that the local authority had failed to collect.

Police intercepted the exercise, detaining Ngarivhume alongside fellow activist Thabani Ncube and two hired lorry drivers.

Authorities claimed the clean-up was unlawful because organisers had not obtained prior police clearance.

Officers also briefly impounded the refuse truck being used for the operation.

Following the intervention of lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Ngarivhume and his team were released after about two hours in custody, with no formal charges brought against them.

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