THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni of misplaced priorities following his incessant public attacks on councillors, whom he said lacked basic professional qualifications.
BY STAFF REPORTER
For the second time in less than two months, Manyenyeni this week attacked the councillors.
“His attacks are causing unnecessary conflicts between him and the city fathers at the expense of better service delivery to the residents,” PDP secretary for local government, Settlement Chikwinya said.
Manyenyeni on Tuesday claimed that council was in need of professionals such as lawyers and engineers, as elected councillors missed the basic facts on many issues.
In August, he called on voters to instead elect skilled people that are non-partisan to become councillors in the next elections.
The mayor said the running of councils needed educated people and suggested it would be better to include non-partisan, non-political councillors, with the requisite skills.
The Tendai Biti-led party said it was regrettable that Manyenyeni, claimed to be a social democrat, when he was an “unrepentant capitalist”.
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“As a social democrat, as Manyenyeni claims to be, he should not attack councillors unnecessarily in public, but should work hard in ensuring councillors’ skills are upgraded to meet the day to day demands of council business,” Chikwinya said.
The party urged Manyenyeni to focus on improving service delivery, as the majority of Harare residents have no access to safe drinking water.
“He should be working on providing amenities such as refuse collection and clean water, while strengthening social safety nets and the skills of his councillors,” the party said.
