FOR 15 years, Mutasa Central was considered a safe seat for the opposition party who held it.
Then, businessman and philanthropist, Innocent Benza, came up with a masterplan, 10 years ago, and the rest, as they say, is now history.
He won it for Zanu-PF this year and those who followed the drama in the area closely will agree that he did his homework.
It was more than a decade of work in the area which he did quietly while managing to make a difference into the lives of the community.
Those without short memories will remember that this is work he started in 2013.
That was the year he started providing buses to ferry people in the constituency for registration as voters.
That was also the year he also started repairing roads in remote areas, which he said would allow voters easy access to polling stations.
Cde Benza, who is in the transport and mining business vowed back then that he would wrestle Mutasa Central from the opposition, and he has now done just that.
When he said these words, back in 2013, many didn’t see that this was a man on a mission with a masterplan to wrestle this ticket.
“We have taken a deliberate stance to provide buses to carry people in the constituency to register to vote.
“We will also provide buses to carry people from remote areas on the day of elections because we want a resounding victory for Zanu-PF.
The people we are ferrying are strictly from Mutasa Central.”
Clearly, while others around him in the opposition slept on duty, they didn’t see that this was a man laying a foundation for the success story which he wrote this year.
The businessman employees a lot of workers from Mutasa Central.
“We are going to pull all stops and enable the people to vote resoundingly for Zanu-PF.
“For example, we are going to provide transport to people living in inaccessible areas.
“We are also creating new roads and repairing those that are in bad state to enable people easy movement.
“Anyone in Mutasa Centra who need transport to register to vote we are providing it including on the day of voting,” Cde Benza said.
Today, he is the one who is having the last smile.