Focus on service delivery, Harare councillors told

Ivan Zhakata Herald Correspondent

HARARE City Councillors and management have been urged to prioritise service delivery, especially refuse collection, water provision and fixing sewer bursts to improve the living conditions of the people.

The previous council led by Mayor Jacob Mafume, admitted towards the end of their tenure that they had failed to provide decent services to residents.

Refuse was not collected in most parts of Harare while many in the city had no water supplies, and flowing rivers of sewage were common.

Street lighting had almost entirely disappeared and this has become a cause for concern among residents, as it has resulted in an increase in muggings during night time.

Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province Mr Tafadzwa Muguti said the incoming council should prioritise providing decent services to residents.

Mr Muguti said local authorities, in particular the Harare City Council, played an important role in promoting sound local governance and co-ordinating urban development for the enhancement of social economic development.

“The City of Harare is bedevilled with a number of challenges, and I implore this new council to try and immediately take action,” he said.

“The first is water and sewer challenges. As you are well aware, despite the devolution funds and other initiatives drawn by the Council for the previous five years, water and sewer challenges continue to be a problem.

“As central and provincial Government we are here to assist you in any way possible to ensure that we address these issues. Refuse collection has been a major issue and this comes now with the Statutory Instrument 140, which has declared a state of national disaster for refuse in Harare by President Mnangagwa.”

Following the declaration of a state of disaster, there is an inter-governmental committee consisting of the City of Harare and the Environmental Management Agency, which is also going around trying to assist in removing waste.

President Mnangagwa declared the Harare Metropolitan Province as a state of disaster following the failure by the four councils in the province to remove garbage resulting in heaps of uncollected rubbish at shopping centres and residential areas.