Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) aspiring Bulawayo Ward 4 councillor David Coltart has vowed to rid the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) of corruption and revert the city to its former glory should he be voted into office.
Coltart has also been touted as the cityโs next mayor.
In an interview on This Morning onย Asakhe, a Twitter Space run by CITE, Coltart said he accepted the challenge after beingย approached by severalย party members and other political players, requesting him to take up the challenge and try his best to restore the cityโs pride and glory.ย
โI have been out of government for ten years and I have really enjoyed the break as I have managed to reconnect with my family and friends in the city I love. So, when the party asked me what role I would like to play I said you can put me back into Senate, put my name at the bottom, I know I would not be voted for, but I would have shown my allegiance to the party,โ he said.
โThen some membersย suggested that Iย vieย for council office and try and restore the dignity of the city. Someย people,ย evenย those from other parties-notย Zanu-PFย of course, said whyย donโtย you go into council and restore the city pride.ย So,ย because of those requests, I have agreed to stand in as councillorย for Wardย 4.ย I viewed that as a poisoned chalice because there would beย very highย expectations and they would beย very difficultย to meet.โย
Responding to reports of him likely to land to mayoral position, Coltart said he was not getting ahead of himself.
โThere is a lot of talk about me being mayor.ย I am not counting those particular chickens before they hatch.ย There is aย process, I must be elected as councillorย for Wardย 4, the CCC will have to have a majority number ofย councillorsย and then I would have to secure the support of other councillors to become mayor. It is a long road to travel in thatย regard,ย so I am not making any assumptions in that regard,โ he said.ย
He said his vision of the city is to rid it of corruption in order to attract more investments.
โIf I am to sum up my vision for the city, it is to clean up Bulawayo. It has become clear in my mind that one of the reasons why Bulawayo is not working is because of corruption which has becomeย endemic. Bulawayo is not working because ofย corruption,ย it is driving away potential investors. I want our city to have more investments and we can do that by eradicating corruption, which has become endemic,โ Coltart said.
