BULAWAYO residents are up in arms with the Bulawayo City Council over its plans to introduce an additional town planning department next year in January, saying the old town planning department was doing well.
BY SILAS NKALA
The residents have petitioned the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) blasting it for deterioration of leadership standards and accusing it of introducing new things which smacks of corruption.
“Recent rumours that the BCC is in the process of corruptly setting up a new department of town planning are worrying us as residents and ratepayers.
“Surely, it does not need a rocket scientist to prescribe that the timing is very wrong.
“What is the logic behind incurring a huge financial burden for establishing a new department at the time the council cannot deliver on its service delivery obligations?
“We are well aware as residents of Bulawayo that this new department of town planning is influenced by the ugly corruption that happens in the sale of residential and commercial stands, particularly to people from outside Bulawayo and Matabeleland region,” read part of the petition.
The residents said council management should streamline its management to ensure there is better service delivery.
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“We the residents of Bulawayo also remind the elected councillors that they represent the residents in council, not the other way round. Any attempt by councillors to rubber stamp programmes that are a liability to Bulawayo residents and ratepayers without consultation will be vigorously and radically resisted.”
City mayor Solomon Mguni last week said there was need to revamp the town planning department as the roles of engineers and town planners could not be merged under one department.
“The current administration took note of the concerns of residents who have been complaining that the city is not growing; is deteriorating and has lost its beauty.
“The investigations that we did pointed to lack of continuous planning. Residents have been coming to us asking about estate registers and management policy,” Mguni said.
He said the most topical issue was on urban regeneration and renewal of the inner city and the old suburbs of Makokoba, Nguboyenja, Mzilikazi, the re-organisation of the vending markets to decongest the CBD and the planning of a viable urban commuter or public bus system.
