Veteran football administrator and former Combined Victoria Falls Resident Association (Vifacora) chair Morgen Dube who is vying for ward 11 seat as an independent candidate in the council elections has said his target is to bring maturity and stability to the local authority.
A civic activist, Dube, popularly known as Gazza, is one of the eight independent candidates that are vying for election in seven of Victoria Falls’ 11 wards.
Gazza will be up against Zanu-PF’s George Mhlanga, Daniel Moyo of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), and Francis Ncube of Zapu for the city’s biggest ward.
In an unusual build-up, the city has a record eight independent candidates as residents have said they are not happy with party politics and the independent candidates have resolved to help each other in campaigns so as to win elections and remove party politics mentality from the city accused of high corruption by CCC councillors.
Dube recently held a rally at Mfelandawonye grounds in Mkhosana to launch his manifest and election campaign.
The rally was also attended in solidarity, by four other independent candidates-Tafadzva Mutowa of Ward 2, Respect Takaya of Ward 7, Khumbulani Mpofu of Ward 8 and Vusumuzi Sibanda contesting in Ward 9.
Dube said he is going into council to give depth to leadership.
His manifesto includes bringing sanity and maturity to the council, the rapport between council and residents, affordable water and sanitation, helping establish lucrative sports tourism, influencing a deliberate policy to create employment opportunities for local youths and addressing human-wildlife conflict, he said.
“I had a rally at Mfelandawonye grounds to launch my manifesto and campaign and it was an open meeting for Ward 11 residents. We unpacked what I stand for and my intention number one is to stabilize Victoria Falls council by bringing the experience that I have as a person and as a community leader.
“The general consensus in Victoria Falls is that the last five years were almost a waste on the representation side. This is what residents said to me when they asked me to go and represent them so basically what I am bringing is stability and maturity in our local authority,” said Dube.
He said the local authority which became a city in 2019, should have leadership that meets city standards.
Dube said the city needs leaders that can work to address water challenges and exorbitant bills, deal with human-wildlife conflict and mend relations between council and residents.
Over the past five years, the city fathers and residents have been at constant loggerheads as the latter complained about bad governance, corruption and lack of proper leadership.
Dube said Victoria Falls has potential to be a destination of choice especially in sports tourism as it has the best airport facility in the country.
“We recently saw Victoria Falls becoming a city and the representation must show that we are now a city in terms of capacity and vision.
“Having a background in the civic world it is my speciality area that I understand very well and I feel not only Ward 11 but the whole of Victoria Falls will be well represented. That depth is needed, this is what I stand for going into the local authority,” said Dube.
He said the city needs to craft by-laws that are pro-youth to create employment and remove young people from drug abuse.
