admincampaign rallies does seem to be a first in Zimbabwean politics.
Even Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, who had to be brought in for the top job when MDC-T realised it simply did not have anyone remotely qualified among its batch of councillors, has turned his thumbs down at this bizarre request.
City officials had already managed to squelch the idea by refusing permission for the equipment, all bought with borrowed money, from being exhibited at political events.
Harare City Council is an example of why harmonised elections need voters to be more careful at times.
It is generally agreed that the present council owes its successful election to riding on its party’s coat-tails during the 2008 election.
Voters simply punched the party ticket without examining the credentials of the MDC-T councillor candidates. If they had, then it is likely that most could not win on merit.
In the past, voter turnout for council elections was low but at least most voters knew who they were voting for.
This was one reason for a healthy minority of independents being elected, and political parties generally took some care to ensure that their candidates at least held basic qualifications for the posts sought.
Many councillors had no further political ambitions, simply being successful people who wanted to make the city work. Others did have ambitions to move onto a national stage, but again they made sure they were qualified as future MPs.
So generally the council did contain at least a group of people who could make a go of the upper level of posts of mayor and committee chairmen.
This time round Harare voters may well be more careful and start learning how to vote for candidates rather than just for parties.
It is common now in countries that have harmonised elections for at least a significant proportion of the electorate to be ready to split their votes.
This is why American presidents frequently face a congress containing majorities from the other party and why party affiliation is only helpful at best at the lowest level of local government.
A trend for “ticket splitting” also helps parties ensure that the full ticket does list people qualified for the posts being voted on.
American parties go far down the ladder with their primaries so even the proverbial dog catcher has had to pass through a more rigorous selection process than simply writing his or her name down on a list.
The present crowd of MDC-T councillors perhaps needs every gimmick they can find.
Better still would be a willingness by all political parties to field a team that they honestly believe can run a city, rather than rely on the provisions that outsiders can be elected mayor and the Local Government Minister can appoint a handful of non-voting technical experts.
At least then party affiliation would not be the only reason to vote for someone.
Parties might remember that riding on coat-tails works both ways. Bad candidates for lower posts can damage candidates for top posts and the experience most people in Harare have had in the last five years with the present MDC-T council could rebound unfavourably for that party.
And quite honestly a city council candidate who wants a garbage truck at his rally is perhaps just giving voters a very clear signal of what they should do.
It does seem an appropriate vehicle to take many of our councillors away from political life.
Online Reporter