Bulawayo councillors are accusing the local authority’s management of sabotaging them by failing to implement the councillors’ resolutions.
The issue was raised during the latest Full Council Meeting held in the council chambers on Wednesday.
Councillors complained about the filth in the city, stating that they had come up with numerous resolutions to address the issue, but the council management did not seem keen on effectively implementing the policies.
Ward 22 Councillor, Mmeli Moyo, said the councillors had passed resolutions six months ago that included the business community purchasing bins and placing them outside their premises for dumping litter and the council management increasing the number of community sweepers in their wards.
Moyo said that neither resolution had been effectively implemented. He stated that this conduct by the management showed either sabotage or incompetence, which reflected poorly on the councillors’ ability to deliver services.
According to the council, a work-study was conducted that informed the decision not to increase the number of sweepers in the various communities.
“We are in our tenth month since we began our term as council. To date, some of the resolutions we made have not yet been implemented. In my observation, I feel like there is serious sabotage in this house,” said Cllr Moyo. “If it’s not sabotage, then there is serious incompetence that needs to be addressed by your office.”
Moyo continued, “It was stated very clearly on refuse management. We gave a plethora of resolutions with regard to the issue. One of the resolutions was that the business community purchase bins so that residents can find places to place their litter. The other one being that this department must increase community sweepers who assist us in our areas.”
Cllr Moyo raised concerns that the policies they formulated were not being put into effect and that the municipal police had only made a few arrests of people who dumped litter at illegal sites.
“This is the sixth month since this resolution was passed. How long does this council take to implement its resolutions? We need to understand whose vision we are running. Is it the vision of the council or that of someone else? The mayor came up with a noble idea to keep Bulawayo clean, but right now the CBD is full of filth.
“Nothing is being done, no law is being enforced. It is shocking to know that this past month only eleven people were arrested for illegal dumping. It shows that the management does not understand the direction that we want to take as a city.”
Ward 3 Councillor, Mxolisi Mahlangu, also complained that despite his ward having increased geographically after the delimitation exercise, the number of sweepers in his community was cut down.
“I want to comment on the work study which informed the decision not to increase community sweepers. In my ward, the number of sweepers was actually decreased. From ten people to eight, being informed by that work study,” said Cllr Mahlangu. “But those that are privy to the geographical location and area of my ward would understand that you can’t have a study or a research that does not include the councillor of the place.”
Mahlangu added, “The study also looks at a place that covers at least 21km and you reduce sweepers from ten (which are not adequate) to eight. I want to understand which formula was used to reach that number and which school taught them this because it does not speak to the reality on the ground.”
Ward 9 Councillor Donaldson Mabuto concurred with his fellow councillors and called on the Town Clerk, Christopher Dube, to take action and ensure that the passed resolutions are implemented.
However, city mayor, Cllr David Coltart, highlighted that although councillors were justified in their concerns, the council management was doing the best it could, especially considering the limited amount of resources available.
“The need to clean our city is not a quick resolution. I acknowledge the complaints from councillors about the management. Some of the concerns are justified. But it is important that in these debates we provide balance for the public and that we still deal with the truth of the matter,” said Cllr Coltart.
“Most of our workers are working extremely hard and are dealing with a lot of refuse which is being deposited on a daily/weekly basis. We have a limited number of bins and refuse vehicles and we can’t place all of that on management. From my experience, the Town Clerk and his team are working quite hard to try and respond to the complaints.
“It may be that there are certain parts of the department that are not working hard, but the point I’m trying to convey is that we recognize that not everything can be laid on the council. We have a psychological problem in our city. Until we change our attitude and educate people to stop dumping the way that they are doing, it does not matter how much resources we have, we will battle to deal with this problem.”
