HARARE City Council (HCC) is reportedly on autopilot after a special council meeting called on Monday to elect an acting mayor failed to constitute a quorum.
The situation is said to be dire to the extent that no
binding decisions are being made on issues of service delivery at the
cash-strapped metropolis. At one time, Harare had two mayors, Stewart Mutizwa
and Jacob Mafume.
A councillor disclosed to NewsDay that the situation was
getting out of hand and was affecting service delivery in the capital. The
councillor said council committee resolutions were piling up without
implementation.
“We could not vote because there was no quorum and Harare
has been on autopilot from September 17, 2021. Mutizwa, who is calling himself
acting mayor, is at law not supposed to be in that capacity, hence an election
was supposed to be held on Monday but it failed to take off,” the councillor
said.
“He (Mutizwa) cannot commit himself to Harare without being
challenged.”
Residents fumed over the chaos at Town House, saying
political squabbles between the MDC-T and MDC Alliance had resulted in the
mess.
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba said: “The
reality is that factionalism between the MDCs has become detrimental to the
provision of essential social services to the ratepayers who do not owe MDC
Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa or MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora anything.
“Councillors were elected by the ratepayers in order to
represent them, make laws and play oversight roles without compromising any of
these key roles at the altar of political expediency.”
He said when there was no mayor, council would be thrown
into turmoil.
Shumba said Local Government minister July Moyo had not
assisted in any way as he had been repeatedly issuing directives that paralysed
the operations of HCC.
“The MDCs are holding ratepayers at ransom. At the end of
the day, council is expected to deliver water and sanitation services, health,
education, housing and community services, and provide waste management
services in an efficient and effective manner,” he said.
More than 45 Harare councillors were elected on an MDC
Alliance ticket in 2018, but over 20 of them were recalled by the MDC-T.
Newsday
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