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Fairness Moyana, Hwange Correspondent
THE announcement by Finance Minister Chinamasa on Government’s intentions to takeover coal mining concern, Hwange Colliery Company Limited’s properties has ignited renewed hope in the corridors of the Hwange Local Board (HLB) of incorporating the area fully under its management.
Hwange town has been run by four quasi authorities namely HLB, HCCL, National Railways of Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe Power Companies with each of them running its own infrastructure. Presenting his Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review last month, Minister Chinamasa said the Government was working on taking over HCCL’s properties such as houses and medical facilities to allow the company to focus on its core business of mining coal after buckling under the burden of running a bigger part of the town.
Addressing stakeholders at a budget review meeting at a local hotel last week, HLB Town secretary Mr Ndumiso Mdlalose said they welcomed the move by Government to take over the properties which he said would in turn translate to incorporation and eventual attaining of the municipal status of Hwange.
“If you are aware, we have been consistent with our quest to gain municipal status for a while and the developments that have been taking place to date have moved us a step further to attaining that status. My reading from the speech of the Minister of Finance is that the Government want Colliery to concentrate on its core business of mining and leave issue of governance to local authorities on behalf of Central Government,” said Mr Mdlalose.
“My understanding is that they are saying the running and provision of services to residents in the concession area should be left to local authorities as is happening elsewhere in the country. We must understand that any business or activity that takes place in a country occurs under a local authority, be it urban or rural in the case of these eight wards in terms of administration they should fall under HLB.”
He said alongside the incorporation issues, the Government had also asked the local authority to apply for municipal status.
“Together with the issues of incorporation we were also asked to apply for municipal status and we have been advised that the application was favourably received to the extent that the incorporation would entail the awarding of municipal status,” said Mr Mdlalose.
The local authority has been pushing for the incorporation of the eight wards under the coal mining company to be placed under its jurisdiction for the past eight years insisting that councillors from the concession areas were short changing the greater Hwange.
Mr Mdlalose said their proposal to have one local authority running the affairs of the town had been accepted by the Government and a delegation of senior Government officials will be visiting the local authorities to work out administrative issues.
“To date we are aware that the process of incorporating the eight wards at a legal and policy level of Government has been accepted and we were advised that a team is coming down to work out the modalities which is mainly administrative and these include issues of boundaries that is why we were also advised that the team will also comprise a physical planner,” he said.
Meanwhile, the authority revealed it was battling to provide adequate services due to an underperforming budget.
The local authority has collected only $1 million against a target of $2,1 million and owes its workers 10 months salary.
Online Reporter