Bulawayo residents wish-list for new council

BULAWAYO residents have outlined seven critical areas that incoming councillors should attend to, including addressing the city’s perennial water challenges.

The new councillors are set to be sworn in following their election in last week’s harmonised elections.

The Citizen Coalition of Change won all 29 council seats in Bulawayo. The new councillors come at a time when Bulawayo has become a pale shadow of its former self and is facing problems such as water supply shortages, illegal dumping of refuse, poor roads, and uncontrolled vending.

The chaos in the city centre is unparalleled as illegal vendors have invaded some of the streets, affecting the smooth running of formal business. The delays in completing the US$60 million Egodini Mall and Taxi Rank is one of the top council failures.

Litter has become the order of the day while some parts of the city have been heavily congested in a clear demonstration of a council that has lost control of the affairs of the city.

Bulawayo residents have said the incoming councillors should restore public confidence by improving service delivery.

In a statement, the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) said the incoming councillors should align the city’s development agenda to the Government’s economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025).

It said the elections of new councillors should bring new ideas in shaping the city’s development trajectory.

“BPRA, thus believes that as we work towards addressing the deplorable state of service provision in the City of Bulawayo and drive the City of Bulawayo to become a leading, smart and transformative city, the following issues need to be taken with high-level of seriousness, particularly by the newly elected officials,” read the statement.

Residents said the council should address the biting water crisis as a top priority, which requires innovative thinking. At the moment the council is implementing a daily water provision strategy that does not guarantee access to the precious liquid on a daily basis.

“Bulawayo has perennial water challenges that can only be dealt with under the stewardship of innovative and critically thinking leaders who will look into solving these hurdles through short-and long-term smart solutions,” reads the statement.

“BPRA calls for clear short and long-term plans, which will mainstream issues of climate change.”

Residents have also called for the completion of the Lake Gwayi-Shangani construction and the conveyance Gwayi -Shangani-Bulawayo pipeline. They also stressed the need to increase water that is drawn from Nyamandlovu Aquifer’s Epping Forest and Rochester.

BPRA said residents need to be briefed on the accurate status with regard to the construction of the Egodini Mall project.

The association said the incoming councillors need to present solutions on waste management and address sewer bursts in most western suburbs.

“The city particularly in high-density suburbs is now characterised by continued sewer bursts, which are conducive to the spread of water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, which claimed innocent lives in Luveve in 2020,” read the statement.

BPRA has also called the new councillors to come up with strategies that will result in an effective refuse collection system that will restore the city to its former glory as the cleanest city in southern Africa.

It said the council needs to address the thorny issue of estimated bills, which BPRA said could be contributing to some of the residents not paying bills.

BPRA said council should make its public procurement processes transparent and weed out alleged corruption while harnessing opportunities that come through public-private partnerships.

“BPRA believes public procurement processes should be transparent for scrutiny by all residents and all relevant stakeholders. Audit reports by local authorities should also be availed for public scrutiny as we drive towards flushing out corruption within public entities,” said the association.

“BPRA envisions a city that has an effective and transparent means of Public-Private Partnerships. Partial privatisation of parks and other recreational facilities are potential alternative revenue streams, which the local authority can tap into and stand guided by innovative leaders of the highest integrity.”

Developing alternative revenue streams is critical in lessening the burden of residents, said BPRA while urging the council to be transparent with its budget systems and ensure that they are gender sensitive.-@nqotshili