Led by the Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association chairperson, Cornelias Selipiwe, the residents sourced 10 tonnes of pothole patching material from local companies. They then formally informed the council and suggested that they might want to help mend the roads in the high density suburb of Mkoba.
In a letter dated March 25, Town Clerk, Daniel Matau, informed Selipiwe that he had regularised the initiative. However, Selipiwe told The Zimbabwean that after satisfying all council requirements and getting approval from the Roads Engineering department on the quality of the material, the councillors had blocked the initiative.
“It has been six weeks since we acquired the material. We hear the councillors have politicised the matter and are saying we cannot go ahead with patching the roads because their opponents will come in and gain mileage,” said Selipiwe. He added that even the Town Clerk was developing cold feet.
“We understand the council is cash-strapped and we went out of our way to help” “We understand the council is cash-strapped and we went out of our way to help. If the impasse persists, we will have to approach the Local Government ministry,” said Selipiwe.
Mayor Teddious Chimombe said the initiative should first be approved by the council’s environment committee and then agreed on by a full council meeting.
He denied the councillors had politicised the matter. The majority of the local councillors, including Deputy Mayor Taurai Demo, were suspended from the MDC-T on corruption charges last year.
Post published in: News