Staff Reporter
The remnant councillors from the MDC Alliance faction led by Nelson Chamisa, have received instruction from its national leadership to sabotage business at the Harare City Council as a way of countering the influence of the MDC-T at the local authority, the Harare Post can report.
Several meetings have been cancelled at Harare City Council because they constantly fall short of the required quorum. Contact said so far, three full Council meetings, which were supposed to endorse proposals by committees on service delivery, failed to take off.
A fully constituted HCC council meeting consisted of 46 Councillors, but presently, 20 were recalled, two were suspended, while the other two died and have not been replaced.
According to the contact, yesterday’s planned Harare City Council special meeting at Town House flopped due to inadequate attendance by Councillors. Kuwadzana Ward 38 Councillor, Clifton Zumba had to cancel the meeting due to inadequate quorum.
According to the contact, instruction went out last minute to the MDC-A councillors to boycott the meeting in solidarity with Mafume. The meeting was meant to settle the raging power struggles for the Mayoral position between MDC-T Greendale Ward 8 Councillor, Steward Mutizwa and suspended Mt Pleasant Ward 17 Councillor Jacob Mafume. Only 10 MDC-T Councillors showed up out of an expected 22.
According to contact, this boycott is an act of protest to try and force the reinstatement of Mafume as Mayor and to frustrate Mutizwa.
The contact further added that the power struggles at Council was stalling service delivery.
Contact revealed that the Town Clerk’s desk was piling with paperwork of Lease Agreements, workers’ salary adjustments which need to be approved by the Mayor. These documents, the contact said, had not been actioned as there is confusion on who to deal with. There is fear that in the event that the papers are signed by an illegitimate Mayor, they will be rendered null and void.
The MDC-led council has been short-changing residents through poor service delivery. This has resulted in residents calling on the Government to intervene and set up a Commission to run the affairs of the capital city.
