OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa on Sunday threatened to crack the whip on corrupt Bulawayo councillors after accusing them of bringing the party’s name into disrepute.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
Chamisa said the MDC cannot afford to lose Bulawayo, where it has been winning seats since the party’s formation in 1999 and vowed to bring sanity to the troubled local authority.
On Saturday night, Chamisa met Bulawayo residents and other stakeholders at a hotel in the city, where issues of corruption and poor service delivery by the MDC-run council took centre stage.
The MDC-led council has been rocked by allegations of corruption and rabid infighting.
“Our deployees in government are supposed to be guided by procedure, good governance, sound policy, rule of law and constitutionalism. Our deployees in government have to act in a manner that shows excellence of councillors. Anything that is below that mark is un-MDC. Anything that is below that mark attracts a very strong response from the party and its leadership,” Chamisa said in an interview on Sunday, a day after he addressed a party rally in Lupane, ahead of a pending by-election.
The MDC leader admitted that his councillors lacked capacity on local governance issues, in particular on procedural issues of handling disputes within the confines of the law.
This came after deputy mayor Tinashe Kambarami’s decision to suspend underfire town clerk Christopher Dube was reversed by mayor Solomon Mguni.
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“So, we are very clear, that there was a procedural impropriety. There was a communication gap and there are also some misunderstandings that are not necessary by people who have a task to deliver service for the people of Zimbabwe and for the residents of Bulawayo,” Chamisa said.
“We are taking necessary steps to correct all the omissions and commissions so that the people of Bulawayo always get the best services from their council which has always been the case.
“We don’t want to allow minor problems to affect the image and integrity of the city. We are aware that minor issues need to be resolved. But we are also worried, if there are allegations of corruption. There must be a procedural way of addressing it, because we don’t want any corrupt elements either among the councillors or the technical staff … (in) the management of council.”
Chamisa added that he engaged residents and stakeholders in a bid to find a lasting solution to the obtaining crisis in the MDC-led council.
