The much-anticipated election of a new Bulawayo mayor failed to take place on Wednesday after the local government ministry reportedly ordered all councillors to attend an induction meeting in Gweru.
The first seating of the full council has now been slated for Monday, September 11.
The election of the new mayor, deputy mayor and committee chairpersons was meant to be done soon after the swearing-in ceremony.
According to the Urban Councils Act, Section 103, the mayor and deputy mayor are to be elected at the first meeting of the full council.
The new council, which consists of a total of 38 councilors made up of 29 elected councillors and 9 councillors under the women’s quota proportional representation.
Incoming councillor for Ward 4, David Coltart, who is tipped to land the mayoral post inquired during the ceremony why their first meeting and election process was being postponed.
Coltart said they had all come prepared to go through with the procedure as per the provisions of the law.
“On behalf of CCC and in the interests of transparency, with members of the press present and the chamber full, we would like to raise some issues. In terms of Section 103 of the Urban Councils Act, we have to have our first meeting at which the mayor and the deputy mayor are elected. So, it would be helpful for the public to know when that will happen,” Cllr Coltart inquired.
In response, Town Clerk, Christopher Dube, said the development was a directive that came from the Ministry of Local Government that councillors must first be inducted before electing the mayor and the deputy mayor.
“It is true that in terms of the said Act, we were supposed to have one meeting. We should have, after the swearing-in ceremony, been going into the first full council meeting but we got a directive from the ministry to say it would be best to have the induction first before the first meeting so that we all know what is expected of us. I don’t know how bad it is in terms of the provision of the law if there can be an infringement, but personally, as an administrator, I thought it was in good faith,” Dube said.
In a sideline interview with CITE after the ceremony, Coltart noted that the development came last minute, with the councillors not being consulted nor informed of the changes on time.
He said the party had caucused and was ready to elect the mayor, deputy and chairpersons for the various committees.
“We were not informed about this induction course, it was a less than 24-hour notice. We are not against it, the induction is a good initiative, but there must be consultation. But in our event, our view is that the meeting, in terms of 103 should have taken place so that when we go to an induction, we know who the mayor and the deputy mayor are, who the chairpersons of the various committees are. In terms of our own caucus, we have met and we understand and we know who the people who will get into those positions are,” Cllr Coltart said.
