BY Own Correspondent
HUNDREDS of Chitungwiza residents poured out their grievances to the recently-elected mayor Lovemore Maiko during his maiden Town House meeting held at Seke Unit L hall on Thursday. Maiko told NewsDay Weekender that the meeting was one of the several lined up by council in an effort to build trust with stakeholders in an effort to make the town smart.
“We are on a mission to bridge the gap between council and its stakeholders, thus laying the foundation for a sound relationship, which must deal with issues of trust and confidence with the system,” he said
The residents, who comprised mostly the elderly, expressed dismay at council’s failure to deal decisively with land barons who continued to rip them off and cause havoc in the town.
Maiko said the biggest impediment to service delivery was the land baron menace and urged residents to work together with council to ensure orderly in the allocation of residential stands. The mayor added that his council faced a budget overrun.
Council finance director Evangelista Machona weighed in, saying following the monetary policy statement by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube last year, expenditure had shot up to 500%.
Chitungwiza Residents and Ratepayers Association leader Arthur Taderera said the elaborate land scam which dated back to more than 15 years ago involved former councillors and elected officials with the connivance of council employees and officials.
“The Muda Dam has been on paper for far too long. One wonders if it becomes like the Chitungwiza to Harare train, but if it works out that would be the best thing to happen to this city,” he added.
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Town clerk George Makunde was recently reported in the media saying that the cash-strapped municipality was losing at least $4 million annually to politically-connected land barons preying on vendors and were now desperately trying to derail efforts to restore sanity in the dormitory town.
