THE RURALISATION OF ZIM’S URBAN CENTRES

18 Sep 2020

• Has the MDC Alliance failed to run councils?
•  Are they being sabotaged by ZANU PF?
• Is a commission likely to take over operations?

“World class city status by 2025” – reads the declaration by the City of Harare.
But Harare, once a lively and clean modern city, has become a shadow of its former self and is far from being world class.
Service delivery has deteriorated to unprecedented levels as residents endure months without refuse collection while some suburbs go for days, weeks, months and in some extreme cases, even years without water.
Sewer systems have broken down causing the flow of raw effluent, exposing communities to water borne diseases.
This further burdens the health system, which is already under threat as health workers at council-run clinics are not reporting for work due to insufficient material for a safe working environment under Covid-19 and poor pay.
Burst pipes lead to loss of treated water and roads are littered with potholes.

Areas like the once marvelled Copacabana Bus Terminus and Market Square are now an eyesore, with litter everywhere.
Not to be left out is the biggest vegetable market in Zimbabwe, Mbare Musika, among other markets, particularly in high-density residential areas, where garbage has gone for months without being collected, a potential health threat to consumers and traders.
At the centre of this inefficiency are political squabbles and corruption. Scores of MDC Alliance councillors have been accused of criminal abuse of office and corruption while several others are being recalled by the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T.
On the other hand is a ZANU PF-led national government, eager to exploit the failures by the MDC-A council not just in Harare but in most cities and towns around the country.

Who is to blame for all this chaos?

Chamisa, team sleeping on duty
Harare Residents Trust (HRT) director Precious Shumba has heaped blame for the failure of towns and cities to run smoothly squarely on the MDC-A’s doorstep, arguing it is the responsibility of local authorities to clean up cities.
The Urban Council’s Act 2015 Chapter [29:15] confers functions, powers and imposes duties upon municipal and town councils and local boards such as carrying out refuse collection so as to sanitise the urban environment and keep close guard against the prevalence of diseases.
According to the Harare Anti-Litter (Amendment ) By-laws of 2014, litter includes any containers, wrappings, plastic paper, cartons, cigarette packets, vegetable matter, garden waste, clippings, dead animals, ash tins, rubbish, bricks, stone, rubble, soil and any other matter or substance which is unwholesome, offensive or untidy.
Shumba said service delivery in Harare continues to deteriorate without any hope in sight and that ratepayers were bitter as Harare City Council (HCC) appears to be run by incompetent people.

“Our major problem presently is that the City of Harare internal controls are very weak and manned by incompetent and unprofessional personnel who lack appreciation of organisational development. Personnel are wrongly distributed with the most incompetent tasked with the most complex assignments, and this reduces the effectiveness of the council,” said Shumba.
“Heaps of uncollected garbage are found along streets, avenues, and roads in the residential areas, especially the high density suburbs. The major concern to ratepayers is the lack of responsiveness by the City of Harare despite having a Service Delivery Charter that promises to attend to sewer bursts and water pipe bursts within 48 hours after receiving a report from the residents.
“Residents have however continued to complain that reports go unattended and treated water is lost, and their health is put at higher risk as broken sewerage pipes are left unrepaired despite making several visits to the council’s district offices to make reports.”
He said corruption now cuts across every department at the council, an issue which needs to be addressed as it was now compromising service delivery.

“Corruption cuts across all departments in council including among City of Harare councillors. Corruption by its very nature is disruptive, costly and unproductive. Where there is endemic corruption, service provision is compromised. It is important for the City of Harare to act in a professional, efficient and effective manner on everything, including resources allocation and strategic planning, expenditure management, performance management and oversight management,” he said.
HCC’s corporate communications manager Michael Chideme said council had resumed collecting garbage after their efforts had been hampered by a raging fire caused by a faulty power cable at the Pomona dumpsite in northern Harare.
“We have since resumed collecting garbage from last Sunday after having been hindered by the fire at Pomona, which has been since contained. Some of our fleet is being repaired and soon we will be in full swing,” he said.
Zimbabwe Urban and Rural Council Nurses Workers Union have also castigated operations at the city’s health department (ZURCNWU)
“Harare City Council closed clinics without consultations. Only what they are good at as City Fathers is to lie to the public and government. Thumbs up to the present government for a great job of flushing out all corrupt officials in HCC. Opening of Harare City Council Clinics is a mammoth task and we are fully behind the Harare Residents on their demands. Put Dr Prosper Chonzi at task. Corruption is rampant in the HCC,” they said.

ZANU PF’S hidden hand in MDC-A chaos
Harare lawyer, Obert Gutu, believes that MDC-A councils are unfit to run Zimbabwe’s cities and towns.
“The excuse that city of Harare is badly run because of undue interference from central government is trash, pure, unadulterated hogwash … The thieves running the City of Harare are a national disgrace,” said Gutu.
Gutu argues that an average rural family leads a qualitative life compared to the average urban family.
Could there be truth to what Gutu is saying or there sabotage and undue interference from ZANU PF?
So far 17 councillors from the city have been arrested on corruption allegations. They are being accused of depriving council of millions of dollars through land deals, with some allocating stands to top officials who are not even on the housing waiting list.
These include former Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba, who was arrested on July 21, 2020 on allegations of criminal abuse of office connected with the sale of stands.
Gomba is facing corruption charges related to abuse of office and has also been recalled while the incumbent, Jacob Mafume’s reign is under threat following revelations that his People’s Development Party is planning to recall him.
Further, embattled Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango is also facing a slew of corruption charges related to land deals as he is currently out on bail over the charges.
This, claims MDC-A sympathisers, is a clear sign that the councillors and the opposition party functionaries are simply being persecuted for political expediency by a ZANU PF party bent on sabotaging Nelson Chamisa and his team.
However, others like Gutu believe that the MDC-A has simply failed and is incompetent. They accuse the councillors of prioritising looting ahead of their mandate of service delivery since assuming control of the council over the past two decades.

 

Commissions could take over running of councils
Twenty one councillors have been recalled by the MDC-T while several others face corruption charges.
This development has led to paralysis of HCC operations, which has led to talk of a commission being needed to take over all council operations.
Speculation is now also rife that this is a project by ZANU PF to dismantle the council and gain effective control through the back door.
In 2018, Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo appointed commissions that would preside over local authorities countrywide to enable oversight in the absence of councillors.
This was done according to Section 143 of the Constitution as read with section 158 of the Rural District Councils Act (Chapter 29:13) and section 80 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) which provide that local authorities will be presided over by commissions prior to the swearing in of new councillors.

At the time, he said the commissions would preside over local authorities on an interim bases until a new council is sworn in and were to strictly adhere to existing statutes in all council activities and operations.
This scenario now seems inevitable at Harare City Council, which effectively is now left with only 25 councillors following the recall of 21 MDC-A councillors, including the mayor and deputy mayor, by the MDC-T.
Twenty one vacancies now exist at the embattled council, a development that may trigger the temporary appointment of commissioners until by-elections are held.

Under the Urban Councils Act, the minister can appoint one or more commissioners for a maximum of six months, or until the vacancies are filled in a by-election, when councillors “are otherwise unable to exercise all or some of their functions as councillors”.
Legal and constitutional expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku said there is no possibility that the council can be run by a commission because every vacancy created for councillors needs to be filled up according to what the Constitution and Electoral law say.
“Recalls are not a basis for the city to be run by a commission, they simply trigger a by-election. A recall is just like a councillor dying, they simply expedite by-elections to replace them,” said Prof Madhuku.
“Those who were suspended from office can be replaced by acting offices. Any suspension is in terms of the labour law. None of these things should affect the running of council. If someone is appointed to act in a position, they should work properly.
“Any appointed acting person should be one with capacity to act in accordance to everything that was supposed to be done by the substantive officer, they should be competent. People should not affect due process by arguments that do not hold water.”

Recalled councillors include former mayor Gomba (Ward 27), deputy mayor Enoch Mupamawonde, Lovemore Makuwerere (Ward 24), Gilbert Hadebe (Ward 39), Munyaradzi Kufahakutizwi (Ward 19), Simon Mapanzure (Ward 34), Charles Chidhagu (Ward 30), Keith Charumbira (Ward 8), Steven Dhliwayo (Ward 40), Barnabas Ndira (Ward 21), Chihoma Runyowa (Ward 29) and Charles Nyatsuro (Ward 6), Denford Ngadziore (Ward 16), Girisoti Mandere (Ward 44), Jaison Kautsa (Ward 37), Tonderai Chakeredza (Ward 31), Hammy Madzingira (Ward 10), Kudzai Kadzombe (Ward 41), Gaudencia Marere (Ward 32), Costa Mande (Ward 24) and Happymore Gotora (Ward 7).
So far 17 councillors from the city have been arrested on corruption allegations. These include Gomba, Lovemore Makuwere, Costa Mande, Hammy Madzingira, Tonderai Chakeredza, Anthony Shingadeya, Town Clerk Hosiah Chisango, Director of Works Zvenyika Chawatama, Director Housing Addmore Nhekairo, Human Resources Director Matthew Marara, Principal Housing Director Edgar Dzehonye and Aaron Tayerera.
City town planner Samuel Nyabeze, Surveyor Munyaradzi Bhowa, City valuer and estate manager Emmanuel Mutambirwa, and Warren Park district officer Tutsi Kanonjerea and Charles Sigauke, a senior clerical officer, make up the rest of the list.
The arrests do not seem to be over just yet.

“We will continue with arrests, some people appeared in court and more culprits will be brought to book, this applies to other local authorities such as Chitungwiza,” said ZACC spokesperson John Makamure recently.