by JAIROS SAUNYAMA
Macheke residents have blasted the amalgamation of their town with Murewa, saying the move would disadvantage them in so many ways.
This was revealed by Macheke Citizens Development Trust director Ali Maulani during a workshop last Friday organised by the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum and Youth Development in Action Trust in Macheke.
Macheke is being administratively run by Murewa Rural District Council despite having its own sub-offices at local governance level.
“The intention (amalgamation) was noble, but in the process one side was, and is still being deprived of development. Macheke has lost in terms of development due to this amalgamation — from equipment, land and progressive planning in terms of programmes and projects that lure investors to the area,” Maulani said.
“As residents, the question that everyone is asking is whether this amalgamation is still viable now that Murewa has grown in terms of development, surpassing Macheke,” he said.
Macheke falls under Murewa South constituency and is mainly dominated by commercial farming activities.
Maulani said it was high time that the amalgamation of the two areas was reversed.
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“We appeal to authorities to do an evaluation of this amalgamation and come up with viable and beneficial planning to correct this anomaly. There is no industry and the rates alone cannot sustain this area. With the pencilled programmes by the government like the local economic development, I see us going nowhere and achieving nothing because we cannot make decisions on our own without the blessing of Murewa,” Maulani said.
Women’s representative, Portia Machemba said: “As women in Macheke, we are not benefiting much from this arrangement. For example, if you want to obtain a birth certificate, one has to wait for weeks to get it. This is because the birth certificates come from Murewa.
“At one point, I was told that the vehicle that delivers birth certificates had developed a mechanical fault. Why can’t we have our own administrative offices in Macheke? Surely, we cannot struggle to get a birth certificate in this era,” she said.
Residents recommended that Macheke should be independent from Murewa so that it runs its own affairs.
The meeting was attended by various stakeholders, among them councillors.
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