Chronicle Editor
Johnsias Mutonhori, Midlands Correspondent
FORMER Gweru Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe has admitted that councillors from opposition parties who have been running Gweru over time were to blame for the sharp decline of service delivery in the city.
Clr Makombe made the remarks in an interview on the sidelines of his swearing in ceremony in Gweru last week after he won the Gweru Ward 2 by-election. He was mayor under the MDC-Alliance but was recalled by MDC and later contested as a member of the Citizens Coalition for Change.
Apart from Gweru there have been numerous complaints over the state of service delivery in most cities that are under the control of opposition parties, with residents made to live under sub-standard conditions. The councils have failed to maintain roads, with some areas dodged by perennial sewage flow in public places, acute water shortages, dysfunctional traffic lights in the central business district and unreliable refuse collection, among other service delivery anomalies.
“I choose to work under the environment, works and town planning committee because it addresses the challenges that we have as a city. This is in terms of water, roads, sewer and all that. We have a history of failing to provide water, a history of failing to maintain roads, we have challenges on public lighting, challenges in traffic lighting and those are very essential services,” he said.
Clr Makombe said he no longer has interests in being a mayor.
“I am the provincial chairman of the CCC and I’ve got quite a lot of work that I’ve to do. I have to make sure that I cover the whole province. The province is big and I don’t think I would want anything that would commit me that much. I would want to do my part, which is very important for this country. I don’t think I will be ready to take up the mayoral position in any way when it comes vacant,” he said.
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