Gweru mayor admits failure

Locadia Mavhudzi Midlands Correspondent
Outgoing MDC-T Gweru Mayor Councillor Charles Chikozho said his tenure was plagued by failure to rehabilitate roads, provide water and collect refuse owing to resource constraints. Addressing a State of the City event in Gweru recently, Cllr Chikozho said the local authority is owed more than $58 million by ratepayers.

“I am pleased to have been at the helm of Gweru City Council. However, the city is failing to deliver critical services owing to financial challenges as council is currently owed over $58 million by residents and the business community,” said Cllr Chikozho.

“Clean water provision is becoming a challenge as the council needs up to $30 million to rehabilitate the whole water pumping system from the main supplier dams — Gwenhoro and Whitewater dams. The equipment being used is over 50 years old,” he said.

Although the city needs six refuse compactors to sustain waste collection, it only has one refuse compactor, he said.
Council has had to hire private trucks to collect waste, especially in high-density suburbs.

“While this is not sustainable, something should be done as you are all aware of the potential health hazards associated with dumping waste at undesignated sites.”

The dream of making Gweru a world class city by 2030, explained Cllr Chikozho, is achievable if there is huge capital investment.

City fathers said all traffic lights in the city are not working.
“We had challenges with the contractor who was supposed to work on traffic lights. Our contractor has not managed to deliver the job and the issue is now in the courts; hence, I cannot divulge more information for now,” he said.

The MDC-led council continues to face challenges and have blamed central Government for crafting policies that prevent the effective running of local authorities.

“Some of our challenges are driven by the new procurement regulations where the board approves our requirements for goods and services,” said Cllr Chikozho.