ZANU PF Pushes For MPs To Wear National Dress Colours
ZANU PF Chief Whip in the National Assembly Pupurai Togarepi has called for Parliament to set aside a day per week or month, where all legislators will be required to wear national dress colours.
The national dress code is the brainchild of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa. She launched it in April this year and it was endorsed by her husband President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Speaking in Parliament recently, Togarepi said it was prudent for Parliament to set aside at least a day to ensure all MPs come to the House clad in the national apparel. He said:
Following the launch of the national dress which was largely spearheaded by our First Lady, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Parliament through the committee on culture, it is my request that Parliament should facilitate that on a certain day, either weekly or monthly, MPs put on the national dress colours to encourage members of the public that we represent to also take up the national dress and its colours and wear them, even when they go outside Zimbabwe.
The national dress issue entrenches itself as a culture in our society among the people of Zimbabwe.
So, it is my request Mr Speaker that if there was room that Parliament could facilitate that in two ways: allowing or encouraging that people put on this national dress on a specific day.
Maybe if resources permit, Parliament administration can help MPs to acquire the national dress materials so that they can put them on as a process of encouraging our society to celebrate our national dress.
National Assembly Speaker, Jacob Mudenda, who is also a ZANU PF politburo member, supported Togarepi’s proposal.
He said parliamentarians should start wearing national colours out of national interest and driven by patriotism. Said Mudenda:
All of us will get rid of these ties and start putting on the national dress. So it is a call that we need to respond to out of national interest, driven by our patriotism.
Yes, Togarepi is or was in that team of putting together what was deemed to be the national colours.
He worked very closely with a small parliamentary committee under the auspices of the First Lady and the Minister of Small to Medium Enterprises, Sithembiso Nyoni.
