Moyo, who is driven by politics, enjoys the backing of an
unlikely ally in the MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonzora, which is on a crusade to
dismantle the elected leadership of the MDC-Alliance where it exists throughout
the country.
Mwonzora’s party has recalled the majority of councillors
that were elected during the previous elections, leaving Harare with a weak and
inept leadership.
The remaining few councillors seem not to have the spine to
stand up to the MDC-T leader’s shenanigans as they fear being recalled.
This has given Moyo and central government a free pass to
do as they please in Harare to the detriment of the city’s long suffering
residents.
The minister struck again last week as he suspended elected
mayor Jacob Mafume on spurious grounds.
Mafume had only returned to work a few weeks ago after he
was suspended in January following his arrest late last year for allegedly
trying to bribe a state witness in a case where he is facing corruption
charges.
The Local Government ministry failed to charge Mafume
within the stipulated time and this paved the way for him to return to Town
House.
Acting mayor Stewart Mutizwa, a member of Mwonzora’s party,
refused to make way for the substantive mayor on his return and this fuelled
confusion in the council’s operations as the local authority now had two
centres of power.
Moyo’s response was to suspend Mafume and aid the MDC-T’s
nefarious agenda in Harare.
Moyo justified the latest suspension by claiming that the mayor
will interfere with witnesses in his case, but that is not his job as this is a
matter that is still before the courts.
The minister simply strayed from his mandate.
He simply continued with a Zanu PF tradition to do all it
can to cripple local authorities that are under the control of the opposition.
The government’s interference in operations of local
authorities such as Harare has not been in the interests of ratepayers as it
affects service delivery and breeds corruption.
Harare is struggling to provide basic services such as
running water and refuse collection, a situation that promotes the frequent
outbreaks of mediaeval diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
If the MDC Alliance and civil society groups have the
interests of Harare residents at heart, they must challenge central
government’s destructive agenda in the capital.
The MDC-T and central government must be given a clear
message that they cannot continue to toy around with residents’ lives without
any consequences. Someone has to put a stop to the madness. Standard
0 comments:
Post a Comment