HRT says ‘No’ to half-baked councillors

Andrew Muvishi Herald Reporter
Harare residents believe that political parties need to field competent, experienced, progressive and creative personel to run as councillors in the forthcoming elections, as local government is at the heart of socio-economic development. The Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT), an advocacy group for Harare residents, says local government therefore needs to be depoliticised to ensure that people who are passionate about running local authorities are given an opportunity to do so.

In a recent statement, HRT said the onus is on political parties to evaluate the credentials of aspiring council candidates.
“Political parties must, therefore, critically assess sitting councillors seeking re-election.

“Further, political parties are urged to evaluate the credentials of council candidates during primary elections.
“Such evaluation includes each party having criteria for candidate selection, which are competence- and integrity-based,” reads the statement.

Some political parties, HRT said, were letting down their loyal supporters by selecting incompetent candidates to run for council office.
“Based on the last two or three past elections, more than 70 percent of the respondents (in a survey held recently) indicated that they did not change the party that they voted for in council elections.

“Such a voting behaviour points to an electorate with consistent voting preferences. Political parties enjoying such loyalty need to reciprocate by fielding competent candidates committed to changing service delivery in cities,” said the organisation.