Chombo fires Mutare deputy mayor

Chombo was in the eastern border town last Wednesday dismissed Itai Masaka as deputy Mayor and substituted him with Admire Mukorera, in a move that has left the MDC seething with rage. The Mutare council is dominated by the MDC-T who won all the 19 council wards during last years elections. Mukorera was elected on an MDC ticket but fell out of favour with the party after he was condemned for stealing meat, meant for mourners at Susan Tsvangirais funeral in Buhera earlier in the year. Immedately after this fall-out he defected to Zanu (PF) but held onto his council seat.

The MDC-T provincial leadership held a crisis meeting in Mutare last Friday and resolved not to recognise Chombos directive. The MDC-T spokesman for the province, Pishai Muchauraya, told SW Radio Africa that the MDC led council will ignore Chombos latest manovoures to bring in Zanu (PF) people through the back door. He said the MDC will not brook any interference from Chombo in council affairs, and called for the urgent reform of the Urban Councils Act, which gives too much power to the minister.

As far as we are concerned Masaka is still the deputy mayor of Mutare. Council statutes clearly state that the mayor and his deputy shall be elected by a full council caucus. So when has Chombo become a Mutare councillor?said Muchauraya. The Makoni South MP said as far as they were concerned the only people who recognise Mukorera as deputy Mayor are those from the Local government offices in Harare and not the people of Mutare.

This is what we call abuse of power by Chombo. He has no mandate to dismiss a deputy mayor for no apparent reason. In fact we know he was carrying out a Zanu (PF) mandate,Muchauraya said. This is not the first time that Chombo has meddled in the affairs of the Mutare council. In 2005, he ousted mayor Misheck Kagurabadza and his council, and in their place appointed a commission chaired by Fungai Chayeruka.