Officials blocking access to President

to brief him on the state of affairs in council.

Briefing journalists at Town House yesterday on how the city operates, Mr Masunda said people around President Mugabe were blocking him from meeting the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

Each time he bumps into President Mugabe at State functions such as at the burial of national heroes, Mr Masunda said, he is often reminded that “I am still waiting”.
“People around him are putting barriers. President Mugabe always tells me he is still waiting. I have an obligation to keep all stakeholders informed. That commitment remains. I have burning issues to brief the President,” he said.

He was responding to a question on why he always makes reference to meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yet he claims he does not belong to any political party.
“I am not into party politics. I am not a member of the MDC or the mainstream MDC, Zanu-PF or any other party,” he said.

He said because of that independence he was free to meet any of the political leaders or any one in authority to brief them on progress or lack of it at Town House.
Mr Masunda said local authorities face difficult times ahead especially with the announcement by Unicef that it was pulling out of a humanitarian programme to procure and supply water treatment chemicals to councils.

He said the UN agency wrote to all mayors and town clerks informing them that after June the agency would stop the humanitarian assistance.
His fears are that Zimbabwe could slide back to the 2008 scenario where several thousands of people died of cholera partly because there were not enough water treatment chemicals and the dilapidation of water and sewer reticulation system.

He said he also wanted to share his views with President Mugabe on what the nation should do to be self-reliant and be able to pay for services that benefit it. “We should not rely on taxpayers of other countries. Why should we depend on them,” he said.

Mayor Masunda urged journalists to report responsibly on city affairs and that they should keep open communication lines with Town House authorities. Journalists, he said, should not be intimidated by officials adding that officials who intimidate journalists and not willing to co-operate should leave.