by Claver Nyuki
The MDC Bulawayo City Mayor, Solomon Mguni drew the wrath of the Bulawayo residents after posting on his Facebook page, castigating the move by Government of allocating Zupco buses to the City of Kings to ease the pressure on residents in Bulawayo.
The MDC has long been accused of being an enemy of progress, a claim that has been substantiated by the City Mayor, who has failed to see the need to help residents who had been taken at ransom by commuter omnibus operators who had hiked prices at the expense of the general public.
Mayor Solomon Mguni took to his Facebook page on the 31st of January to express his disapproval of the government intervention, opining that the availing of ZUPCO buses in the city is in conflict with the city’s own elaborate transport policy and master plan.
Mguni added that town planners had not anticipated the government move and did not allocate any bays to ZUPCO buses to pick and drop off passengers.
Reacting to the post, residents felt that the city council does not want to work with the government and accused the MDC councillors of being selfish and only interested in advancing their own personal interests at the expense of the public at large.
Some residents even went as far as alleging that most of the commuter omnibuses serving the streets of Bulawayo are owned by the councillors hence their negative response towards the Government’s noble gesture.
Mguni’s comments also come in the wake of Bulawayo City Council having closed Egodini bus terminus for upgrading but nothing has been done thus far leading to congestion in some parts of the town such as Fort Street, Herbert Chitepo and Sixth Avenue as these streets are dropping and pick up points used by commuter omnibuses.
Mguni’s clear lack of sympathy with residents, stems from the MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa’s reluctance to engage President Mnangagwa in National Dialogue to help in finding solutions to the country’s problems.
The fact that Chamisa and the MDC National Deputy Chairman, Tendai Biti led a delegation to the United States (US) requesting an extension of the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe also proves the MDC is an enemy of progress as the most hard hit are their party supporters who have to bear the brunt of the country’s economic challenges.
