daniel chigunwe
Columbus Mabika
Herald Reporter
HARARE province can be transformed into shining beacon once again, with unity of purpose, determination and commitment, Harare Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution Senator Charles Tawengwa said yesterday.
Speaking during a stakeholders engagement meeting he said Government had identified road rehabilitation, construction of schools, clinics and hospitals, markets and shopping malls, partnerships in water and sanitation, construction of solar farms, construction of incubation centres and information technology hubs as key areas of infrastructure development in local authorities.
Harare Metropolitan province has four local authorities: Harare City Council, Chitungwiza Municipality, Ruwa Local Board and Epworth Local Board, all of which have a mandate towards attainment and fulfilment of the provincial economic development plan.
Opposition-led council have overseen the rot in the four local authorities in recent times, prompting Government to declare some of the failed services as disasters, thus overriding the large amount of independence urban authorities posses and so allowing Government to move in and take effective action
CBZ Bank has expressed willingness to partner the four local authorities in their developmental quest through its public-private partnership initiatives.
Senator Tawengwa said Government has ceased power and authority to local authorities through extensive changes to national governance architecture to use available resources in pursuit of Vision 2030.
“The Government of Zimbabwe with the able leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Cde Mnangagwa introduced extensive changes to the national governance architecture by devolving power and authority to provinces. As such my main focus during my five-year term is to develop the province using available resources and pursue Vision 2030.
“There are a lot of projects and programmes in the pipeline but priorities have to come from the people of Harare. My office will work with everyone in Harare Metropolitan Province and engagement has already,” he said.
“Let me reiterate that through unity of purpose, determination and commitment we can transform the province into a shining beacon. Let us work together and I promise maximum support to all stakeholders in Harare Metropolitan Province.”
Senator Tawengwa said the Metropolitan Province was endowed with vast resources yet to be fully used for the development of the province and contribute towards the country’s gross domestic product.
All local authorities in Harare Metropolitan Province had submitted overviews and investment prospects to CBZ, upon which the bank will look into the investment prospects for each local authority and work on the modalities of partnering.
CBZ executive Mr Phibeon Mutibura said the bank through its initiatives was willing to partner local authorities in areas of challenges.
“We came up with a public private partnership where we work together to revive particular areas of challenges like infrastructure.
“As you recall city of Harare has gone down with many challenges, and when you look closely at it you will see it is an issue of support, which they need from banks.
“So as banks we are coming in and saying we want to look at their priorities, the areas for investment,” he said.
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