Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo has accused the government of initiating a number of projects in Matabeleland only to abandon them before they are completed.
Moyo told NewsDay yesterday he was particularly concerned over the delays in the completion of the Joshua Nkomo statue, Mtshabezi pipeline link and the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. “National programmes in Matabeleland never get completed, they are repeatedly delayed and we are worried and disappointed,” he said.
“We are talking about the Joshua Nkomo statue, the Mtshabezi link and the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport.
“It is such a concern not only to the people in Bulawayo, but to the region as a whole.
“Another Heroes’ Day is just around the corner and the Nkomo statue has still not been erected. This is worrisome.”
Moyo said “relevant authorities” were delaying council’s plan to rename Main Street after the late national hero.
“The application to change the street name was done years ago and the necessary procedures taken, but when the statue has not been erected, the street name will remain unchanged,” he said. “The relevant authorities should do their part as we have done ours. They are delaying us.”
Moyo said he was disappointed that there was nothing to show that the Nkomo statue project, which he had expected to be completed by Heroes’ Day, would be completed anytime soon.
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Home Affairs co-minister Kembo Mohadi could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.
In previous interviews, Mohadi told NewsDay he could not give a timeframe within which the statue would be erected, saying once the project was completed, the public would be informed.
The founding Zapu leader, popularly known as Father Zimbabwe, died of prostate cancer on July 1, 1999.
