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Pamela Shumba Bulawayo Bureau
Bulawayo City Council has developed a robust strategic plan to reposition itself into a smart city by 2024, the mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni said yesterday. Smart cities ensure increased citizen engagement and use of digital technologies, among others methods to make them more liveable, resilient and better able to respond to challenges.
Addressing hundreds of people during the Bulawayo 125 years celebrations held at the City Hall, Clr Mguni said the strategic plan will take the city into the future.
“The City of Bulawayo has developed a robust and exciting strategic plan which seeks to take Bulawayo into its future as a smart and transformative city by 2024,” he said.
“This plan will not only articulate that we continue to set the pace in terms of local governance and service delivery but also ensure that we’re repositioned to be a global city that allows international partnerships and has global impact.”
Clr Mguni said celebrating 125 years of existence under the theme ‘Reimagine Bulawayo’ was an important day for Bulawayo as it allows itself to ponder on its success, refocus and imagine a new Bulawayo.
“Bulawayo is built on a legacy of excellence,” he said. “From the inception of the city in 1894, various strides have been made in terms of service provision as well as improvement in the standards of living for the people of Bulawayo.
“As council we have worked diligently in partnership with residents and stakeholders to make sure that Bulawayo continues on a journey of prosperity and success. Provision of quality municipal services is key in the creation of a conducive environment for business and leisure.”
Cllr Mguni said council’s mandate is to improve the operating environment.
“It’s our desire as council that the immediate future of this great city be focused on improving our attractiveness to investors in the international community,” he said.
“This means we have to continue building on our strong pillars and values, which are integrity, transparency, accountability, efficiency, fairness, equal opportunities, consultative, responsiveness, environmentally friendly and ensuring we reinvent Bulawayo to be a prosperous city.”
In her solidarity message, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube said the people of Bulawayo should remember the status of the city in the past years and work together to restore it.
“Given the centrality of our city to the economic development of our country, it’s important for us to pause and reflect on where we have come from and where we’re going,” she said.
“This is so that we remember our status in years past as an industrial powerhouse and put our energy towards rising again into a regional leader in industry and agricultural value addition to a position even further than that we were before.”
Minister Ncube said the city should take the lead in economic activities as the country is in the new dispensation in which President Mnangagwa declared that Zimbabwe is open for business.
She urged the people of Bulawayo to remain united as it was the only road to prosperity.
“My message today is of unity,” she said. “Without united efforts we will not go anywhere in our quest for prosperity. If we allow minor differences to divide our attention from pursuing our common vision as the people of Bulawayo, we’ll not make the stride that we want to make towards better living conditions for everyone.”
The colourful celebrations were attended by former mayors and town clerks for Bulawayo, aldermen, city fathers and mayors from other cities, Members of Parliament, heads of departments from the council and different Government departments and the Bulawayo community.
Various celebration festivities were held yesterday afternoon including poetry, traditional song and dance from various entertainment groups and cutting of the anniversary cake.
A dazzling fireworks display lit Bulawayo’s evening skyline later on.
Online Reporter