Modernisation of our cities should continue

THE SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government might have ended a week ago, but the impact it left on the capital city and beyond is there for all to see.

Motorists, commuters included, are now enjoying the convenience that comes with spruced-up, well-lit roads.

The benefits that come with this are obviously immense.

The general aesthetics of the city have significantly improvement as well.

All this was made possible through the deliberate effort and resources invested by the Government to rehabilitate a city that has been largely neglected for the past two decades.

While the general face of the city has changed, more still needs to be done to turn it into a modern metropolis that we all aspire to have.

More roads still need attention, more streetlights need to be fixed and many other roads need to be beautified.

This is obviously not lost on President Mnangagwa, who has been leading and driving this transformation.

“City fathers must ramp up their pace in guaranteeing adequate service delivery and ensuring that the city is kept clean and well-maintained,” exhorted the President on Friday at the groundbreaking ceremony of the US$300 million Hills Luxury Golf Estate in Harare, which is being spearheaded by West Properties, in partnership with the City of Harare.

“Equally, our residents, including players in the small and medium enterprises, and public transport space, among others, must also play their part by stopping littering and encouraging a culture of proper waste disposal . . . the provision of desired, inclusive and safe urban facilities such as quality public spaces, roads, water, sewer and waste management infrastructure, as well as the provision of social services, remains a priority.”

All this can only be possible when the stewardship of the capital is entrusted to competent and wise leadership.

Unfortunately, the current leadership is anything but competent and wise.

Recent revelations at the Justice Mafios Cheda-led Commission of Inquiry that Harare councillors spent a whopping ZiG230 million, about US$16 million, on workshops alone in just eight months is as worrying as it is criminal.

Yet communities continue to grapple with potholed roads, crumbling infrastructure and abysmal services.

The impact that such an amount could have made had the funds been channelled to service delivery is apparent.

This just tells us all we need to know about the character of the men and women running the affairs of our city.

What is comforting, however, is that the recent developments have given us a reason to believe that Harare can be the Sunshine City once again.

What is equally comforting is that the Government has begun doing something about the rot in Harare.

The Justice Cheda commission’s task should be viewed as such — an attempt to diagnose the disease that afflicts Harare and prescribe the right medicine to nurse it back to health.

The launch of the blueprint “Call to Action — No Compromise to Service Delivery” by President Mnangagwa in November last year, which essentially provides guidelines meant to pivot the operation of local authorities on service delivery, should similarly be viewed in this light.

Clearly, all these interventions are expected to culminate in the repurposing of Harare into a council whose primary objective is serving the capital’s many demanding residents.

Only then will the modernisation of the city be sustained.

The improvements that are presently being made, if they are intensified, will eventually make Harare attractive once more.

The capital’s urban planners and architects should continue devising ways of changing the city’s face for the better.

Further, those running Harare have to realise that whatever happens in the capital has a bearing on the country in general.

As the capital, Harare is the face of the country and has to set the bar when it comes to urban development.

Modernising, developing and beautifying our cities is integral to the broader plans of creating an empowered, modern and prosperous Zimbabwe by 2030.

Harare, therefore, should not let up in the ongoing drive but redouble efforts to establish a world-class city.