Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu has urged the Senate to intervene and hold local authorities accountable amid worsening service delivery.
He argues that the deteriorating state of local authorities stems from weak oversight structures that enable maladministration to thrive.
There is no dispute that many local authorities are failing.
The evidence is visible everywhere: raw sewage flowing on the streets, burst pipes left unattended for days, blocked drains and contaminated water unfit for human consumption.
Yet ratepayers continue to meet their obligations, receiving little in return. Instead, scarce resources are often consumed by inflated executive salaries, perks and endless workshops that appear to serve officials more than residents.
The irony is not lost on Tshabangu. Since the 2023 political realignment within the CCC, his faction now influences most urban councils — many of which are themselves presiding over deteriorating service delivery.
One expects leadership to rein in under-performing councillors, enforce discipline and demand results. Instead, attention has often shifted towards constitutional manoeuvres aimed at extending the tenure of the President, lawmakers and councillors to 2030.
Against this backdrop, calls for Senate intervention while local authorities continue to fail risk being dismissed as political posturing.
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What is needed is not more blame-shifting, but decisive action — starting with the restoration of accountability.
A key reform would be a return to executive mayors and chairpersons, to eliminate the dual centres of power that have weakened local governance. At present, town clerks and secretaries largely answer to the Local Government ministry, reducing elected officials to figureheads.
Residents are tired of endless talk. This is not the first warning and it will not be the last.
The problem is no longer awareness, but the normalisation of failure. Citizens are told systems are broken, resources are limited or reforms are underway — while they queue for water, endure sewage spills and pay for services they never receive.
It is unethical for local authorities to continue collecting rates while failing to deliver even basic services.
Every crisis now follows the same cycle: public outrage, official statements, parliamentary concern and then silence. Water shortage in Harare and collapsing sanitation systems have become routine.
What Tshabangu highlights is not new. It is a recurring diagnosis of a long-ignored condition. The real crisis is no longer failure itself, but its acceptance.
Citizens are not asking for the impossible. They want clean water, functioning sewer systems, reliable refuse collection and accountability for public funds. Their anger stems from a simple expectation: payment must match service delivery.
At the heart of the crisis is accountability with consequences — not more committees, not more statements and not more promises of reform.
Zimbabwe does not lack policy. It lacks implementation.
Until action replaces rhetoric, every new warning will sound the same: another entry in a long record of inaction. Citizens are no longer listening. They are watching — and waiting — for change.
