Town clerk regrets Murambatsvina

apital has managed to continue providing essential services to residents.
“As a municipality we have maintained the city under extremely difficult conditions. The city has remained habitable without foreign assistance,” he said.
He is also happy with the industrial peace that prevailed during his tenure, which he attributes to transparency, regular dialogue and his introduction of a participatory management style.
During his tenure, the council successfully implemented the Millennium Housing Development Project and the TransLimpopo Spatial Development Project.
On the downside, Ndlovu regrets the persistent water shortages Bulawayo residents have endured since he was appointed Town Clerk in 1999.
“Water shortages have been an annual nightmare, like this year we are in a tight spot now that bulk water supply is the responsibility of ZINWA. (Zimbabwe National Water Authority). We have been fortunate not to have a cholera outbreak.”
He also regrets the implementation of Operation Murambatsvina and the follow-up programme Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle.
“These were nightmarish programmes. We were not consulted as a city. We would have found alternatives. What Operation Murambatsvina did was bad. No – that’s an understatement, it was cruel. Extremely cruel. The idea was to make the city clean but that objective has not been realised. The city is not clean at all,” he said.
In the eight years he has been at the helm of Bulawayo City Council, Ndlovu has served under four ministers of local government.
Looking back, he says: “John Nkomo was the best minister I worked with. He was very clear, he talked to everybody. He called regularly for information and you could reason and argue with him. Under Nkomo local government grew.”
Ndlovu says the secret of his success has been adhering to sound systems especially when dealing with councillors. “It’s proved important to remain professional in a politically charged environment. Politics is not part of the game.”
Looking ahead, Ndlovu says he would have loved to go into farming once he retires. “Unfortunately, I never got a farm in spite of being an ex-combatant. If the economy was stable I could afford to rest and survive on my pension – but now I have to look for work.”
He hopes to go into local government consultancy, and plans to produce a manual to help councillors and other local government stakeholders understand their roles and execute their duties efficiently. – Own correspondent