Tobaiwa said the looting and corruption by Zanu (PF) councillors had affected completion of some projects.
Our internal investigations have shown that five tractors belonging to the council were illegally auctioned by the former Zanu (PF) mayor, Stanford Bonyongwe, and the council did not benefit even a cent from that auction, said Tobaiwa.
To make matters worse, we do not even have an asset register of some of our properties and where those properties are.
However, despite these hurdles, we aim to improve the quality of life for all Kwekwe residents, through the provision of health, safe and clean water, road maintenance and education.
He said his council had also managed to acquire two new ambulances in addition to repairing the grounded one.
When we moved into office, we had no ambulance operating and this resulted in critically ill patients failing to get to hospital on time, said Tobaiwa.
The council had also purchased a new tractor and a truck for more efficiency in refuse collection and other services.
The mayor also said the United Nations had chipped in by refurbishing clinics in all suburbs and restocking them with drugs.
The council also received road tar from the Zimbabwe National Road Authority (Zinara), which is being used to repair roads.
To cut council costs, the mayor is sharing a car with the town clerk and other senior officials.
He said the council was also constructing an easily accessible bus terminal in the city centre, after a realisation that undesignated drop-off points in the city centre were on the increase and were causing dangers to the public, especially schoolchildren.
Kwekwe, with a population of nearly 400,000 people is surrounded by several mines and farming areas such as Gokwe, well-known for growing cotton. It is also close to the giant Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco) in Redcliff.
However, the mayor said despite these lucrative business opportunities surrounding the city, business growth in the town was slowly coming to life following the formation of the inclusive government.
Giant companies like Zisco had scaled down operations due to the failure of the then Zanu (PF) government in running the economy. This had resulted in the retrenchment of thousands of workers, Tobaiwa said.
The city council is also battling with the former mayor, who is defying an order to vacate the mayoral mansion.
Post published in: News