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Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni has urged councillors to bury their political differences and work together in delivering services to the expectation of residents.Speaking at the induction workshop of councillors here yesterday, the mayor also spoke highly of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo.
“Time is not on our side. We can no longer use the swearing in ceremony as an excuse for not delivering because we have already been sworn into office and we have already carried out this induction workshop.
“When I came into this office people told me that you will be fired by Minister Chombo but the Minister is not in a hurry to fire me.
“Instead, we have a good relationship with the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing,” he said.
Mayor Manyenyeni said the cordial relations that exist between the council and the ministry was helpful to councillors in fulfilling their mandate. He said the councils’ aim was to produce a world-class city by 2025, adding that if the councillors were to fail, they would have let the nation down.
Mayor Manyenyeni said their biggest asset was the council executive, adding that the councillors should utilise them in carrying out their duties.
The mayor also reminded the councillors that they had no business in the procurement department as the duty lay with the council executive as well as in employing council workers saying they could only recommend.
Meanwhile, Harare Town Clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi said the council’s directorate has completed compiling the City’s five-year-plan and intend to present it before a full council for approval.
The induction programme was opened by Dr Chombo on Wednesday. He urged local authorities to embrace principles of good corporate governance in managing council affairs and to be accountable to residents.
The workshop is meant to capacitate the new councillors and provide them with a platform to familiarise themselves with local authorities’ operations.
The councillors are being trained in issues to do with service delivery, functions and configuration of council, their interaction with the communities as well as the relationship between council and the parent ministry and Central Government.
The training encompasses education on the role of committees, budgets and finance in local authorities, among other key issues.
Online Reporter