Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube and Faith Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporters
BULAWAYO councillors have called for the formation of an inter-departmental team that will be tasked with going to market the city in the diaspora in the hope of luring potential investors.
This comes as the local authority in collaboration with key stakeholders is set to hold an inaugural three-day Bulawayo Economic Development Conference to serve as a catalyst for economic transformation, providing a space for stakeholders to develop actionable strategies for sustainable growth.
Speaking during a full council meeting last Wednesday, the city’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu said there were a lot of potential partners and investors in the diaspora, interested in working with the local authority but there was no platform in place to tap into that market.
“My plea to the city is that we accelerate marketing the city, I know we are marketing it but we have to also market it outside the country in the diaspora. There are many Zimbabweans living outside the country who would like to assist the city by adopting our roads, our street lighting and even our buildings to make sure they are properly maintained.
“I, therefore, propose that we formulate an inter-departmental committee that we can send to the diaspora to address Zimbabweans living outside the country to come and assist us. There are a lot of people interested but there is no platform in place for them,” said Clr Ndlovu.
As one of the country’s major industrial and commercial centres, Bulawayo has the potential to drive national economic growth, create employment opportunities, and enhance the quality of life for its residents.
To strengthen this role, the city will host the economic development conference from 9 to 11 April.
According to the local authority, the conference will serve as a platform for stakeholders to discuss innovative solutions, share best practices and forge partnerships that promote inclusive and sustainable economic development.
“The conference aims to bring together stakeholders from Government, business, academia, researchers, economic think tanks, and civic society to discuss innovative solutions, share best practices and forge partnerships for promoting inclusive and equitable economic development in Bulawayo,” said the local authority in a notice.
The conference will be structured around several key pillars that align with global economic trends and local priorities.
One of the key areas is sustainable industrialisation, promoting environmentally sustainable practices in manufacturing and production and transitioning to circular economy models to minimise waste and improve resource efficiency.
The conference will also explore smart and resilient infrastructure, developing infrastructure that is adaptable to climate change and disaster resilience as well as identifying investment strategies for sustainable infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, the city’s councillors have called on the council management to improve their ease of doing business, with revelations that potential investors are at times frustrated by management’s pace in responding to queries sent to them.
The Mayor, Councillor David Coltart, last Wednesday had a rare public criticism of top management for their casual approach to responding to work emails.
Speaking during the full council meeting, Clr Coltart addressed councillors on efficiency issues, noting that at times council management takes long in dealing with expression of interest queries.
The mayor began by stressing his good working relationship with management, including the Town Clerk and Chamber Secretary, clarifying that his comments were not personal.
“But I am deeply concerned about numerous instances where we have received expressions of interest from third parties on potential projects, and we seem to drag our feet in our responses or give one-line responses.
“I find a disturbing culture regarding the treatment of emails. We need to understand this is 2025. We are not living in 1980. Emails are the means of communication in the modern world. They must be treated with the same attention as one would treat a written mail. I often find that emails are not responded to. Some are good at responding, but not all,” said Clr Coltart.
He revealed that they had encountered a situation where it has taken two years for council management to respond to a query for the establishment of a medical centre.
“The Deputy Mayor and I have just been in a meeting with a resident from Ward 8. I am not going to go into details, suffice it to say that he wrote to our management in 2023 regarding a project to establish a medical facility in the ward.
“And he told us in the meeting that, to date, he has not received a formal response to that letter. That is unacceptable. If we are going to be a smart, transformative city, I call on management to please address this,” said Clr Coltart.
Ward 18 Councillor, Felix Takunda Madzana concurred with the Mayor, revealing that they (councillors) were receiving several complaints from members of the public, who were getting no joy after approaching management to partner with the local authority.
“We would like to appeal to our management that if we have individuals who come forward, say they want to assist the local authority with something, the process should not be so difficult. We have had individuals in our areas who tell us that they approached management with certain proposals and the response takes ages until the people give up,” said Clr Mdzana.
