Tinaani Nyabereka
Gweru-Local authorities have been urged to embrace home grown solutions to avert service delivery challenges.
The call was made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa during his Freedom of City status conferment in Gweru last week.
Gweru City Council had been plagued by a number of challenges which include perennial water woes, dilapidated sewer infrastructure, poor roads and broken down traffic lights among other things.
“I would like to call upon Gweru City Council and all local authorities to partner with academic institutions in their provinces to develop solutions to address service delivery challenges affecting them. Local authorities should leverage on the existing innovation hubs at local institutions to enhance service provision.
“Here in Gweru there are institutions such as Midlands State University, Mkoba Teachers College and Gweru Polytechnic, leverage on the capabilities of these organizations to implement the Smart City Concept and modernize the city.
“Developed countries were developed through science and technology taught at institutions of higher learning. We must therefore give the challenges which we face as local authorities to these institutions to develop solutions. Information Communication Technologies and other contemporary strategies must be effectively deployed to accelerate the modernization of the city,” Mnangagwa said.
In his speech Gweru Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi bemoaned the late disbursement of Zimbabwe National Road Agency (ZINARA) funds saying the development was affecting rehabilitation of key structures such as roads.
The Freedom of the City status is a high civic honour given to prominent people for their contribution towards the development of a city.
The honour is given through a council resolution and allows the individual to enjoy certain liberties and might be exempted from certain by-laws of the city.
For Mnangagwa, the honour comes after the city of Gweru went through massive transformation after getting devolution funds from central government.
The decision to grant Mnangagwa the status once foiled and only sailed through after the recalling of four councillors among them then Mayor Josiah Makombe.
Government has availed funding for the procurement of water pumps at Gwenhoro Pump Station in a move that eventually eased perennial water shortages in the City of Progress.
Also a number of health institutions got a major facelift through devolution funds including Ascot Infectious Disease Centre and Iven beer hall, which was turned into a council clinic.
