By Promise Dube
A former independent councillor in Insiza South, Shepherd Juta, who won in the 2018 elections before joining Zanu PF, lost his seat in the recently concluded August 23 elections.
Juta was elected as a Ward 15 councillor as an independent in 2018 but afterwards joined Zanu PF in 2021.
This time around, he lost to Tedious Mguni of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
Locals in Ward 15 claimed Juta would have been re-elected if he had not joined Zanu PF.
In an interview with CITE, Juta confirmed having heard the sentiments made by the locals and felt that people want a change from the ruling party.
“I have a feeling that people want change,” he said.
Despite his loss, Juta expressed satisfaction with the work he completed throughout his term in Insiza Rural District Council.
He added that he participated in decision-making processes in council meetings and contributed to the rural authority’s effectiveness.
“I don’t regret my experience because I wanted to represent the community. I played my part and was actually happy to deepen my experience,” said the outgoing councillor.
Juta also stated he was not concerned about his loss because he was not seeking power but rather wanted to help Insiza grow.
He stated that he would continue to help the community and that he was looking forward to playing a role in having Filabusi granted town board status.
“Had it been that I was power hungry, I was going to remain an independent candidate but I joined Zanu PF because it has resources so I was aiming to access funding and develop the area,” Juta claimed.
He noted that it was difficult to work as an independent candidate because one will not access enough support from the government to initiate projects.
“This was the reason why I joined the ruling party so as to work together,” Juta said, adding that he mostly used his own funds to fund some small projects that he had embarked on.
“I would also source donations from people but it was not enough for big projects.”
The outgoing councillor said he had run his race and was not in his plans to contest in the next coming elections in 2023.
“However, if people say they want me, it will not be easy to refuse because I am still part of this community and will continue working where I can,” Juta said.
