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prolonging the city’s fast dwindling water resources.The meeting was held in the council chambers and stakeholders representing all water consumers and businesses in the city attended.
A council official yesterday said councillors from the general purpose committee, made up of the chairpersons of council’s standing committees, had been specifically invited.
The official said all other councillors had been expected to attend as they represent the link between ratepayers and the local authority and are considered an integral vehicle for the dissemination of information to residents.
However, only the chairperson of the finance committee, Councillor Edward Ndlovu of Ward 25 attended.
The Deputy Mayor, Clr Amen Mpofu, arrived when the meeting had started and left before it was concluded.
A number of stakeholders said they were disappointed with the councillors because they did not even bother to send an explanation or apology for their absence.
“These are the people who carry the hopes of the city. What message are they sending by not attending arguably the most important meeting in their tenure? The city is dying and they cannot be bothered to carry out the duty we voted them into office for,” said one of the stakeholders.
Another stakeholder accused the councillors of being disrespectful and selfish.
“If it had been a meeting to reduce their allowances, they would have been waiting for the meeting to start, in the council chambers, a day before. I think they did not attend because they are just selfish and want to serve their interests, instead of those of the residents,” said the stakeholder.
The stakeholders said the councillors should have had the decency to send a note explaining their absence.
“Who can blame us for concluding that they do not have the interests of the city at heart? What are they going to tell residents when they ask them about the outcome of the meeting? Who will spread the water conservation message to consumers? This whole meeting may have been a waste of time because council’s link with the people who should receive the message was missing,” observed another stakeholder.
Contacted for comment, Bulawayo’s Mayor Clr Thaba Moyo said councillors had arranged the meeting and it was not necessary for them to attend.
“The meeting was not for councillors, but residents. Councillors arranged it for residents to air their views so that council officials could gather them and compile a report. It is the contents of the report that will be discussed by councillors and a plan of action on the crisis would be formulated with the input of relevant council departments and stakeholders,” said Clr Moyo.
On Tuesday, a war of words erupted between the Mayor and the chairperson of the Bulawayo United Residents’ Association (Bura), Mr Winos Dube.
Mr Dube had questioned the ability of Bulawayo’s councillors to lead the city and blamed them for failing to act on time to avert the water crisis that has led to water shedding being introduced in the city.
Bulawayo has introduced a water shedding schedule that will see residents going for 24 hours, twice every week, without water.
It has also tightened water rationing in a bid to prolong the water supplies from the city’s supply dams, until the next rainy season.
Upper Ncema Dam was decommissioned in March, while Umzingwane could be decommissioned this weekend, leaving the city relying on three dams, Insiza, Lower Ncema and Inyankuni.
Online Reporter