×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Manyenyeni underfire over Harare roads

News
Harare mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni on Wednesday came under fire from fellow councillors over the appointment of a committee to investigate the state of the city’s roads.

Harare mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni on Wednesday came under fire from fellow councillors over the appointment of a committee to investigate the state of the city’s roads.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

Council in April resolved to set a committee to investigate the maintenance and repairs of the city’s roads, and according to the resolution, the committee was to have councillors from the environmental committee, as well as external experts who were to be paid by council.

But Manyenyeni opted to select two councillors, who are not members of the environmental committee and four external experts to understand the road network and what the local authority needs to do to improve the same.

During the full council meeting on Wednesday, Budiriro councillor, Sydney Chirombe said councillors should censure Manyenyeni for going against what had been approved by the council and said the committee should be disbanded.

“Your worship, I would like to know what the position with regards to this matter is, I think it was wrongly implemented. What can we do,” Chirombe asked acting mayor, Enock Mupamawonde, who chaired the meeting.

The chairperson of the committee, Herbert Gombo moved to have the error by Manyenyeni regularised, but Greendale councillor, Stewart Mutizwa said the mayor erred and the committee he appointed should be disbanded.

“This is an error, our mayor is not an executive mayor, who should do what he pleases, this must be stopped and the correct thing done,” Mutizwa said.

The committee, according to the resolutions, was supposed to visit every ward across the capital, with a view to understanding what has to be done to local roads.

The committee, council resolved, was to be paid in line with figures paid to other tribunals that would have been engaged by the local authority.

After tense deliberations, council resolved to regularise what Manyenyeni had done, since the committee had already started work and it was supposed to complete its duties within 30 days.