CHRA Chairperson, Simbarashe Moyo, told The Zimbabwean that the new councillors should hit the ground running with a plan to bring better services to the city’s residents. Moyo said the councillors must start with a baseline survey to identify the areas of need. “We want the councillors to conduct a baseline survey in order to know the exact areas of need,” Moyo said.
He said it would take an all-inclusive approach to tackle the challenges facing Harare residents.
“It means there must be a good working relationship between the councillors, the residents and the minister responsible for the local government portfolio,” he said. “The residents must pay their rates timeously and the minister must create an enabling environment for the councillors to perform their duties.”
Moyo bemoaned the decision taken by the government on the eve of the elections to cancel all debts owed by residents. He said some of the effects were already being felt, adding that service delivery would ultimately be the biggest casualty.
“Workers are still to be paid their August salaries and these delays have to do with the cancellation of debts,” he said. CHRA Programmes Chairperson, Evernice Munando, pointed out that the role of bureaucrats in council affairs needed to be probed.
“The problem was that councillors were left out of decision making processes. These were the preserve of officials such as the town clerk in conjunction with the relevant minister,” Munando said.
MDC-T, which won the majority of House of Assembly and council seats in Harare, has nominated former Deputy Minister of Justice, Obert Gutu, as mayor.
Gutu has said, if elected by the councillors, he would focus on normalising Harare’s water supply. He said he would mobilise resources for the refurbishment of water infrastructure, the road network and refuse collection.
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