Spokesperson for the informal trades, Edward Jaccobs told The Zimbabwean they had declared war on the council amid reports that the party is probing the local authority over mismanagement.
“Council has failed to give us land to operate from and it expects us to treat it with kid gloves. We are going to fight this council until we win,” Jaccobs said.
The Mayor, Alderman Femias Chakabuda, said he was prepared to quit his job rather than allow lawlessness in the city. “We obtained a court order to demolish the structures after realising that they were illegal. We will never allow lawlessness in the city,” said Chakabuda.
Chaos reigned supreme recently when dozens of residents invaded council land in the city centre and started dishing out market stalls among themselves. The city council reacted angrily to the move and obtained a court order and demolished the newly erected structures.
The residents, mostly informal traders, said they had tried to get business stalls from the local authority for years without success. So they put together financial resources to construct their own market stalls. Chakabuda said only people on the council waiting list would be given land.
Sources within the MDC have confirmed that the council is being probed by the party for gross financial mismanagement.
“We are investigating all local authorities and Masvingo is one of them. We have received word that councillors are grabbing stands and giving themselves hefty loans, which is illegal,” said the source.
Post published in: News