Chronicle Editor
GOVERNMENT should be commended for moving in to address the shortcomings of urban local authorities. The heavy rains being received in different parts of the country since the onset of the rain season have exposed the inefficiencies of most local authorities who have been allocating home seekers stands in wetlands.
The councils have also been allowing land barons to allocate housing stands in wetlands.
The beneficiaries of such stands now have to contend with constant flooding of their houses and in some worse situations, councils have been forced to evacuate the affected families.
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said last Friday that Central Government had since resolved to move in to address the many shortcomings of local authorities that are adversely affecting residents.
Minister Garwe said urban local authorities were in fact, dysfunctional hence were failing to deliver on their mandate which is to provide services. He said roads were littered with potholes, burst sewer pipes were not being attended to on time and some residents have gone for years without running water.
Most councils have not upgraded their water and sewer reticulation infrastructure to cope with the increased population hence many councils are failing to meet daily water consumption.
The councils are pumping way below their respective cities and towns’ daily water consumption and as a result are forced to ration water. Councils have been claiming that they have been rationing water to conserve the dwindling water supplies when in fact, it is their failure to pump enough water to meet demand.
Most councils’ supply dams are spilling so councils have no excuse for failing to meet their respective cities and towns’ daily water consumption. We want to commend the decision by Government to move in to address the plight of residents especially those allocated land in wetlands who have to be relocated to new areas.
These people have been suffering since the onset of the rains as their houses are flooded each time it rains.
In a bid to address the bad state of roads in urban areas, Government has since declared the country’s road network a state of disaster. The decision is meant to trigger mobilisation of resources to repair the damaged roads and bridges.
Some individuals are however, politicising Government intervention saying it is Central Government that is making councils dysfunctional yet it’s corruption and mismanagement that has made them dysfunctional.
The councils have failed to deliver on their mandate which is to provide services to residents hence the decision by Central Government to move in.
Government cannot watch while people are suffering as a result of councils’ failure to execute their mandate. It is the responsibility of councils to provide services and in the event of councils failing to deliver on their mandate, Central Government has every right to move in and address the shortcomings as what it is doing now.
Central Government should not just address the shortcomings but should also ensure systems are put in place to force councils to deliver on their mandate and also protect residents from being shortchanged as what happened to those allocated housing stands in wetlands.
Online Reporter