PRIME MINISTER Morgan Tsvangirai has been sucked into a wrangle between Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo over the appointment of Fidelis Fengu as a special interest councillor for people with disabilities.
Report by Richard Muponde
The MDC-T-dominated council has for the past few weeks defied Chombo’s directive to appoint Fengu, arguing the minister had exceeded his limit for eight special interest councillors.
However, MDC-T sources yesterday told NewsDay that on September 19 last year, Tsvangirai’s office wrote to Chombo advising him to consider people with disabilities when making appointments of special interest councillors.
MDC-T insiders said they suspected Chombo wanted to use the letter to justify the appointment of his suspected ally Fengu and create an impression that the directive had come from the MDC-T leader.
Part of Tsvangirai’s letter to Chombo, signed by Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Jameson Timba reads: “The Youth Advisory Board has made representations to the Office of the Prime Minister with respect to appointment of special interest councillors.
“The board is recommending that when appointing special interest councillors, the minister (Chombo) gives consideration to persons with disabilities who seek representation in councils to ensure that their special needs are taken into account by local authorities. I am directed by the Prime Minister to request you to give due consideration to the request by the Youth Advisory Board.”
The letter was copied to the then secretary in the PM’s Office Ian Makone, Local Government secretary Killen Mpingo and Fengu for the youth board.
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Although Timba could not be reached for comment yesterday, Makone said he would only be able to confirm the letter after going to the office today.
Efforts to get Chombo to comment on the matter proved futile yesterday as his mobile phone went unanswered.
Said Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo: “We don’t appoint special interest councillors. That is why the letter did not come to us. I am hearing of the letter for the first time. It’s news to me.”
Last month, Chombo gave Bulawayo town clerk Middleton Nyoni a deadline to appoint Fengu as a special interest councillor by January 13 or face expulsion. As the deadline drew closer, a Bulawayo resident, Jack Matshazi, filed an urgent High Court chamber application blocking Fengu’s appointment.
The application was granted at the last minute by High Court judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha. Matshazi, through his lawyer Job Sibanda, said by forcing the appointment of Fengu, Chombo had acted “in a completely irrational manner that no reasonable person who has applied his mind to the matter may act in a similar manner”.
He said Chombo should explain why he settled for Fengu when the council already had a disabled councillor, Ephraim Ncube of Ward 17, who could serve the interests of the disabled people.
