…residents remain at the receiving end

Emmanuel Chitsika

So goes the proverbial saying that when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers: from the election of executive mayors to now ceremonial mayors, it all reflects the kind of powers the leadership at Town Houses commanded at turn of the millennium vis-a-vis the currently obtaining situation.
So much has played out on the roles of authorities running affairs of local councils with the main political parties now using the platform to gain or propel political mileage over rivals, all at the expense of ratepayers, who then get substandard service delivery.
Local authorities, since the old dispensation have seen a number of political battles with the most notable being the battle to control Harare between former Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo versus then MDC executive mayor Engineer Elias Mudzuri, that culminated in the suspension of the latter being replaced by deputy Mayor Sekesayi Makwavarara who all of a sudden paid allegiance to the minister defying party directive.
The sudden about turn by government to replace executive mayors with ceremonial ones has been regarded as concerted effort of trying to wrestle control of power from the opposition by the ruling party. However the battle for control of the institution led to shift of power to the Town Clerks whose allegiance is questionable.
With a ministry that boasts of the minister, deputy, permanent secretary and directors within the ranks of its organogram, one tends to wonder where all these civil servants would be when the elected members fail to adhere to their given mandates and thus sincerity seems to be lacking when one looks or judges on whether or not they have citizens interests at heart considering that the blame game is reining supreme in urban centres where the opposition controls and not the opposite side.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers’ Alliance (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mutimba said service delivery and local governance in the country has been too politicized.
“Service delivery in the country has been politicised with the minister of local government being given too much powers to interfere in the processes and businesses of local authorities. The minister has powers to determine what happens at local authorities at the expense of elected representatives who are councillors who of late have been stripped of the powers. The shift from executive to ceremonial mayorship in which the mayor cannot even fire incompetent secretariat is another issue.
“Council management as well was given too much power in the process. The oversight and policy making roles of councillors who just meet once a month has not been effective leading to the deterioration of service delivery. Right now service delivery in most if not all urban councils is in tatters at an alarming level. The council is now run by management who directly report to the minister. For example the devolution funds, the minister directly instructs councils on how the funds should be used whereas in normal cases councillors and residents should sit down and decide on how to spend the funds,” said Mutimba.
He also exonerated councillors from the blame which he described as a political gimmick with not value than being useless and the elected representatives are just figure heads to say the least.
The interference and mediation of the minister has led to deterioration of service delivery and so is the blame game on opposition-led municipalities which turns out to be a useless rhetoric that is high sounding nothing because everyone would realise the councillors have got no power over affairs in councils. The set-up in council management has been systematically positioned in such a way that it is composed of ruling party sympathizers following the Zanu PF hand book.
Combined Harare Residents Association acting chairperson Reuben Akili said the blame game between the ministry and councils emanate from skewed accountability mechanisms.
“What is important is to understand that the current blame game between the ministry and councils emanates from skewed accountability mechanisms for example the key issue like government repairing roads in local authority areas and then on the other hand expect the same local authorities to account for the loads which they would not even have contributed towards like looking for contractors, financing and supervising.
“There should be clear mechanisms in terms of the law to ensure local authorities play their roles and central government plays its role. What we would envisage is that local authorities are the ones that are supposed to be dealing with issues of service provision and at the end of the day the responsible minister should play an oversight role but not interference. For example in Harare the ministry even failed to dismiss errant directors which to some extend has cost council of its revenue as they have to pay people who would be in the process of dismissal,” said Akili.
He also said the composition or structure of the local government board is another cause for concern in local governance.
“If one looks at the structure of the board, he/she would see that it goes against the provisions of the constitution (Section 275) which gives local authorities the right to self-governance. Basically, when we look at the deterioration of service provision in urban areas, both central and local governments are equally to blame because they are all guilty of the same offence as they have contributed to the collapse of the sector.
“Local authorities themselves are not that transparent over the manner in which they use their money and the role of the minister to ensure local authorities perform properly other than just watching. The minister is also expected to perform and make sure things happen in local authorities. Both the minister and councils are failing residents. It is the battle for control of urban authorities is the major undoing and thus all the parties are liable to blame,” he added.
Social commentator Ellaine Manyere said the urban local authorities have been turned into grounds for fighting political wars especially when one looks at how government interferes in the affairs of councils.
“Basically I think urban councils are used as battle grounds for politics especially when one looks at the situation when government slashed to zero the debts urban residents owed council which later on negatively impacted on their operations and the money was never recovered from government.
“Service provision in most urban councils has gone down. It surprises that each time the minister of local government and or resident minister visits a local authority, the resultant comment in the media following such visits is like the MDC –led local authority is not doing enough and thus failing. It seems they are doing their best to ensure the elected councillors fail. When one looks at the kind of road infrastructure being constructed under various programmes, the roads will not take even two months to deteriorate and at the end of the day councillors will shoulder the blame. Thus urban councils are used as the fighting ground unlike the rural which the ruling party controls,” said Manyere.
Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Association (MRRA) programmes director David Mutambirwa accused government through the ministry of local government for employing a command approach towards the running of council affairs which he said is meant to erode gains of democracy.
“I think the command system of governance being employed is going to erode all the gains of democracy, social cohesion and multiparty governance which had been cultivated over the years. This is clearly centralisation of power which is against democracy and good governance.
“It is also in contradiction with the constitution which provides for devolution of power. It takes away power from people thereby leaving them helpless. It is a recipe for the lack of peace and sustainable development,” said Mutambirwa.
The notion of devolution of power once again comes under scrutiny to some larger extent and one doubt the sincerity of government to the principle of decentralising power to lower ties of government.
Urban councils have thus been taken as politicking and inter political war zone where each party would flex muscles to show who controls power over who and this control of the corridors of power has resulted in detriment as far as service delivery is concerned.

…as they thrive to reach 100k vaccination target

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI District has already began administering Covid-19 booster shots, with almost 385 people having been inoculated as of February 2022 while more than 70 000 people have since received their first doses while 60 000 have been inoculated twice in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly Corona virus, TellZim News can report.
A Covid-19 booster shot is an additional dose of a vaccine given after the immunity provided by the initial shots has begun to decrease over time. The booster helps people maintain strong protection from severe coronavirus disease effects, even against the Delta and Omicron variants.
In an interview, Chiredzi District Medical Superintendent, Doctor Brian Dhlandhlara said the district has since started administering booster shots and they have so far jabbed 385 people, with 79 988 people having been vaccinated with first shots while 59 997 with two shots.
“Chiredzi District has since started administering Covid-19 booster shots with 385 people having been vaccinated while 59 887 have been fully vaccinated and 79 988 have since been jabbed once,” said Doctor Dhlandhlara.
A Center for Disease Control (CDC) study shows that being fully vaccinated plus receiving a booster shot provides better immunity from severity of the disease, hospitalization and death due to Covid-19 compared to only having two shots.
Chiredzi, being the economic hub for Masvingo province, with a vibrant agricultural industry employing more than 20 000 employees as well as its proximity to South Africa and Mozambique, where people are illegally crossing in and out of the country, risking people from various Covid-19 variants, booster shots will help with an advanced protection.
Chiredzi is exponentially growing with an estimated population of about 120 000 people with almost half of the population having received their first jab.

Rutendo Chirume

Despite the interruption of lessons caused by persistent lockdowns due to the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic Francis Aphiri Primary School recorded a giant leap in percentage pass rate as compared to the 2020 results as its educational glory continue to rise.
The school recorded an impressive 94 percent pass rate for the 2021 grade seven examination results, six percent higher than 88 percent in 2020.
Out of a total of 245 pupils who sat for the exam, 230 passed all the six subjects with the highest pupil scoring six units and a total of 36 pupils scoring between six and ten units.
The school head Henry Maregere said the impressive pass rate was a result of hardworking teachers and supportive parents and that relationship should continue to exist as they aim to raise the bar further up until they reach 100 percent.
‘’The teachers managed to compact a lot of work within the shortest time due to lockdowns and therefore, there was little time for learning. However, their dedication and winning spirit by pupils themselves is the reason why we are celebrating today,” remarked Maregere.
He went on to thank parents whom he said were very supportive throughout the lockdowns and helped pupils at home. He urged them to continue supporting the school and buy gadgets that allow internet connectivity so that pupils continue to interact with teachers while at home on weekends or lockdown.
“The parents were very supportive as they continuously worked with teachers by helping with homework, I therefore urge them to buy gadgets for their pupils to facilitate e-learning so that they continue interacting with their teachers during lockdowns and or weekends so that teachers can send homework,’’ said Maregere .

…as Mutare City Council hikes rate charges

Melinda Kusemachibi

The last quarter of the year 2021 saw local authorities engaging in meetings with various stakeholders as they sought to get residents’ input in the 2022 budgets, most of which are yet to be approved by government.
Most people braved Covid-19 restrictions to attend the budget consultations with the view that their input would be considered have been left with an egg on their face as the process seemed to set aside their contributions to go with what was in their pre-consultations budget statements.
Mutare City Council recently surprised residents in the eastern border town after a rates hike of reportedly around 150 percent instead of the 20 percent residents had proposed during the consultations.
Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA) Coordinator Jussa Kudherezera said that as an organization they have noted with concern how council hiked rates and rentals out of the blue without consulting residents.
“Manica Youth Assembly notes with deep concern the steep hikes in rates and rentals that City of Mutare has implemented albeit from the blue. The untimely hike comes at a time when the local authority finished 2022 budget consultation in November 2021 and we can hasten to say that this hike is uncalled for,” said Kudherezera.
He also said that the rates were raised by more than 150 percent and they feel that council is acting in bad faith.
“As a matter of fact, council raised rentals by more than 150 percent from $1300 to $3345 at Sakubva council rented accommodations such as McGreggors while in Maonde the charges have gone up from $1600 to $3900. This atrocious hike has been done without consulting residents.
“As residents directly affected by this unforeseen action, we feel greatly let down and disrespected by our council considering that during the budget consultations held in November last year, council through the budget committee proposed for a 20 percent hike. There is an outcry from all corners of the city,” added Kudherezera.
MAYA also said they call upon council to review these rates to 20 percent.
“In the meantime, we call upon City of Mutare to review these rates to 20 percent as proposed during the budget consultations even though the budget. We understand council requires funds to continue operating especially under this difficult economic situation. However, we do not understand where and how the local authority came up with the current figures when they officially told residents during budget consultations that the ‘rates by resolution increases proposal’ will not be considered any longer. We wonder, what has changed?” he said.
United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust programmes coordinator Edson Dube indicated that the budget was pegged in US$ but residents can pay both in US$ or local currency.
“2021 Mutare City Council budget was pegged in US$, but residents could pay in both foreign and local currencies at the prevailing interbank rate. The 20 percent adjustment was on the US$ budget.
“It is supposed to be staggered over four quarters of a year, 10 percent in the first quarter and then 3, 3 percent for the subsequent quarters. Our understanding is that the 20 percent adjustment should still be payable in ZW$ at the prevailing interbank rate. Anything more than that does not reflect the wishes of the residents,” said Dube.
He added that the supplementary was rejected by the budget committee.
“The supplementary was out rightly rejected by the budget committee. We can be having a supplementary on a US$ denoted budget.
“As residents, we expect council to stick to what residents approved during consultations, projects budgeted for must be implemented to improve residents lives,” said Dube.
Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Association (MRRA) Programs Director David Mutambirwa said this is a clear betrayal and an insult to the ratepayers who are residents.
“If this information is correct, it is a clear betrayal and an insult to the ratepayers. The budget committee approved 20 percent which was supposed to be staggered over the year. This is very unfortunate to say the least,” said Mutambirwa.
He also said this was the first time a budget committee was considered and the needs of ratepayers should be taken into consideration.
“The consultations covered most of the critical stakeholders’ views and the first time a budget committee was conceived and was part of the budget consultations which gave some semblance of ownership in budget processes.
“If priorities and needs of the residents and ratepayers are taken into consideration, we expect some significant improvement in the relationship between the local authority and citizens resulting in improved revenue collection and intimately better service delivery,” added Mutambirwa.
Contacted for comment Mutare City Council Acting Town Clerk Blessing Chafesuka said during consultations, 20percent hike was equivalent to USD not ZW$.
“When we did consultations the residents association agreed to 150 percent price hikes, 20 percent was done to equivalent to USD not ZW$ hence leading it to raise to 150percent when converted to ZW$. On rentals we did evaluation with the government telling us that this house should cost this kind of amount,” said Chafesuka.