Kimberly Kusauka
Chipinge ward 4 residents have raised concerns of neglect by council amidst worries over poor service delivery that is currently rocking most local authorities in Zimbabwe.
The ward’s councilor Raina Madenyika was a victim of MDC power struggles that saw her recalled by the Douglas Mwonzora led MDC-T on August 6, along with three other Chipinge councillors allegedly aligned to MDC Alliance president, Nelson Chamisa.
However, the unexpected recall of four councilors in Chipinge has left many areas wanting in terms of service delivery since no one is representing their concerns.
This came out during the HowFar? Ward feedback meeting organized by Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) and TellZim News in Ward 5, where councilors and residents met to discuss the state of service delivery in Chipinge.
One of the participants who reside in ward 4 said there are acute water shortages and no alternative clean water sources since some of the infrastructure was stolen.
“We are not getting council tapped water in ward 4 for quite some time. Some of the boreholes where we were getting domestic water from are no longer functional since pipes were stolen.
“We are walking long distances to get water and we are at great risk since we are living in the Covid-19 pandemic which needs consistent supply of clean water,” said the participant.
Another resident said they heard that council bought a refuse compactor for ward 4 but they never saw it leading to the proliferation of illegal dumpsites.
“We only heard that we have a refuse compactor in our ward but we never saw it coming to collect refuse. We end up dumping refuse at an illegal dumping site which is a health ticking bomb since children play there,” said the resident.
Chipinge Town Residents Association (CTRA) Chairperson, Simoyi Mhlanga said council is still lagging behind in its services especially sewage management since people who were working on maintaining drainages withdrew their services.
“There is need for improved service delivery here and mostly sewage remains a problem since those who were working on maintaining drainage systems withdrew their services,” said Mhlanga.
Ward 5 Cllr Haruchineyi Nhengu who is doubling as the interim ward 4 councillor professed ignorance over refuse collection and water shortages but promised that if there is such a crisis, the local authority and other stakeholders will move in to address it.
“We are not aware that some households do not have water supply. We will go and report the issue in our council meetings and there are plans in place by council and Plan International to improve access to clean water,” said Nhengu.
“There is a refuse compactor which collects refuse every Tuesday in ward 4 and it is very unfortunate that part of ward 4 extension is being overlooked. We will monitor those responsible so that they cover the whole area,” added Nhengu.
The state of service delivery in Zimbabwe has been a cause for concern of late as most local authorities have been accused of neglecting the welfare of ratepayers while others are accused of misplaced priorities in their budgets.
