Coltart says he will not resign

Chronicle Writer 

BULAWAYO mayor, Councillor David Coltart yesterday said he will not follow former Citizen Coalition for Change leader Mr Nelson Chamisa and a few legislators in leaving the party and abandoning his position. 

Mr Chamisa last month announced that he no longer had anything to do with CCC following dramatic events within the chaotic party that saw interim secretary general Mr Sengezo Tshabangu effecting a number of recalls in Parliament, the senate and councils. 

Clr Coltart became the first senior member of the embattled party to confirm that there was no love lost between Mr Chamisa and his former allies Professor Welshman Ncube and Mr Tendai Biti.

Mr Biti’s bid to contest in last year’s elections was reportedly thwarted by the then CCC leader in what insiders said signalled the collapse of relations between him and Mr Chamisa.

The rifts between Mr Chamisa and Prof Ncube came much earlier and at one point Mr Chamisa’s allies openly attacked the law professor on social media. 

Insiders said Mr Chamisa had deliberately avoided a CCC elective congress before the 2023 harmonised elections to prevent Prof Ncube and Mr Biti from being elected as his deputies as he had no plans for the two. 

However, none of the three had openly come out and spoke about the fall out and the reasons behind it until Clr Coltart’s confirmation yesterday. 

“Long before Nelson Chamisa resigned I publicly expressed my sadness and regret about the apparent rift between Nelson Chamisa and Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube. All three of these men are friends of mine with whom I have been in the trenches ever since the MDC was launched on the 11th of September 1999,” said Clr Coltart. 

He said the decision not to step down from the Mayoral position was borne out of “consultations” with key stakeholders including residents.

“I will not resign as mayor of Bulawayo, and will therefore endeavour to finish my five-year term in office. I am conscious that I can be recalled at any time, but so be it,” he said.

“I would rather be removed from office by unscrupulous politicians than betray the trust and goodwill of innocent, hard-working and principled residents of Bulawayo by resigning.”

Clr Coltart said there has been an overwhelming response, particularly from members of the public for him to remain in office.

“I have also been written to by people I deeply respect, asking me not to resign, and I take their views exceptionally seriously,” he said.

Clr Coltart said Bulawayo given that the city is facing serious water challenges, he felt he had an obligation to be part of the solution.

“If I were to resign now some of these initiatives may be undermined to the detriment of the city as a whole. While the resignation of any MP is of course tragic, and a great loss to debate in Parliament, it does not have the same direct impact on citizens as would the resignation of the mayor of a city,” he said.

“It is also pertinent to mention that when Nelson Chamisa telephoned me to notify me in advance of his intention to resign I asked him what his expectations were of me. His response was that I should keep on the work I have been doing. At no point has he asked me to resign.”