…Councilors blame management over failure to implement resolutions
Tinaani Nyabereka/Yeukai Munetsi
Gweru- City Council management has come under fire from the local authority’s councillors who continuously accuse the technocrats of ‘sleeping on duty’ due to their failure to implement council resolutions
The outcry by the councillors has been heard in council chambers several times as they blame management for dragging its feet over key service delivery issues.
The recent saga involving the service vehicle which was taken by suspended Town Clerk Vakayi Douglas Chikwekwe sparked debate, with councillors accusing management of failing to implement resolutions over the said vehicle.
Another area of concern was the installation and repairing of new traffic light where councillors expressed disappointment over delays in the installation of the lights.
Service vehicles
Gweru Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi during a full council meeting held last week questioned Acting Town Clerk Livingstone Churu and Chamber Secretary Tapiwa Murerwa over delays in repossessing the vehicle.
He further accused council management of acting in a way which sabotages elected councillors from fulfilling their mandates.
“The act shown by the suspended Town Clerk is theft. We passed a resolution to suspend him without pay as council, so why can’t modalities be put in place to recover that car since February 2023?
“To date nothing has been done and we don’t even have an RRB number from the police and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) case number; what’s happening from management’s side?
“At this moment, let me call upon the Chamber Secretary and the Human Resource manager to go to the police and report accordingly. We want proper documentation, we want the RRB number from police and the Anti-Corruption case number to be presented before this meeting ends,” Kombayi said.
Ward 3 councillor Martin Chivhoko said probably management was afraid of confronting the suspended town clerk on the matter.
“I want to ask management, what is happening? We passed the resolution to have the car returned but up to date nothing has been done. As management you seem to be afraid to confront the suspended Town Clerk. We are eager to know what’s really happening,” Chivhoko said.
According to council minutes, Chikwekwe was supposed to have been given a brand new Toyota Fortuner SFX vehicle worth over US$ 80 000 when he was still the Chamber Secretary.
The vehicle, according to Chikwekwe, was not bought hence he was supposed to surrender the council vehicle once he received his allocated car as council was supposed to buy him a vehicle worth US$ 83 000.
“Council is yet to deliver my car which was approved by the Cabinet. Surprisingly, they want to cry over this low value car,” he highlighted.
Tracing back on most of Gweru Council officials who were dismissed, Vakayi Chikwekwe is not the first to exit council with a vehicle as three more council officials took vehicles as part of their contractual benefits.
The three officials include suspended Director of Housing Services Shepherd Tigere, former director of Engineering services Robson Manatsa and former Town Clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza who was dismissed without her benefits for gross incompetence.
Traffic lights
Ward 15 councillor Trust Chineni who is the chairperson of Environment Committee said issues of lighting were stagnant in terms of progress.
“Yes, as council we passed the resolution to light up all our streets, but some areas still are lagging behind. Also on the issue of traffic lighting, we said we are going to install new lights and leave Zhang’s Emobuild traffic lights project like that.
“We still await to hear management’s decision as they promised to look into it as soon as possible. The biggest question is when will the project be implemented as cars continue to pose danger to pedestrians?” Chineni queried.
Woodlands dumpsite
Ward 3 councillor Doubt Ncube expressed concern over the Woodland dumpsite saying the given timeframe had lapsed while residents continued to live in danger.
“I seek to understand the issue of dumpsite. How far has management gone in addressing that issue?
“People of Woodlands are in danger. We last heard that commitment was being made over moving the dumpsite, so when is it going to be moved for the safety of the people?” said Ncube.
Mayor Kombayi however threatened that the issue of the dumpsite was part some directors’ contract performance as failure to implement will see some packing their bags.
The woodlands dumpsite was supposed to be moved by 2022 after council promised to move the site to pave way for the construction of Mkoba 21, but to date nothing much has been done as financial constraints continue to affect the project.
“Where have we gone with issue of the dumpsite, can we have answers on the matter as we have had timeframes to move the site.
“Health and housing department (point at director of Health), what have we done so far. If there is nothing done yet, just know that when we go out, we go with you (directors) who are failing to work with times frames. Remember implementation of resolutions is part of your performance based contract so be warned. We now have the power as council to dismiss over incompetence,” he said.
Residents
Ward 5 resident Tungamira Zvakarehwa Mashanda said checks and balances on both sides in councils through establishing effective accountability and transparency mechanisms was crucial.
“I can say both councilors and management never take residents seriously, which is seen in the number of projects or resolutions that go unimplemented at the expense of residents. It’s not a one sided thing, rather there is sabotaging of each other from both sides of council.
“As residents, we say now that we are caught in between the fight, we need to vote for councillors who understand how to work in harmony with others going forward.
“Management must know that assuming an office at council as a technocrat comes with a prize to deliver to the people. As residents, we can still act and remove incompetent technocrats from office,” he said.
