The Minister of Local Government, Public works and
urban development Dr I Chombo has announced
governments’ plans to amend the Urban Councils Act
(UCA) Chapter 29:15 and remove the post of Executive
Mayors. The plan has also been endorsed by the Zanu Pf
central committee held recently.
Presenting his report to Parliament Minister Chombo
argued that there was no tangible evidence to show an
improvement in the quality of service delivery offered
by local authorities since the Mayors came into being.
The Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA)responded by saying that the Zanu (PF) regime
has failed to control mayors, hence this move.
“The government had earlier targeted to control urban
voters through mayors and to consolidate their hold on
power but as the influence of the opposition grew so
did their interference. Local authorities thus failed
to perform their duties owing to failure to implement
development programs.
“The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) thus
views the move to change the Urban Council’s Act 29:15
to scrap mayoral posts as lacking strategy. The
removal of mayoral posts will not improve service
delivery in Harare or any other local authority.”
The post of Executive Mayor was created in 1995
following a repeal of the act that established the UCA
29:15. The government argued then it was creating the
post of the mayor in response to the continued
deterioration of service delivery in local urban
councils.
The Ministry of Local Government has continued to
meddle with the affairs of local authorities. The MDC
controlled twelve mayoral posts by the 2002 but it has
now eight. Three were from Harare , Chitungwiza and
Mutare were unlawfully dismissed on charges of
incompetence. The other post was lost in a by
election.
Post published in: News