In an insightful interview, Bulawayo’s Town Clerk, Christopher Dube (CD), sits down with Brighton Ncube (BN) of CITE to discuss his challenging journey managing Zimbabwe’s second-largest city.
Dube opens up about his vision for Bulawayo’s transformation, the challenges of balancing politics with city governance, and the steps taken to navigate the city’s pressing water crisis. He also shares his hopes for Bulawayo’s return to its former glory as a clean, thriving metropolis and the legacy he aims to leave.
Here is an excerpt from the interview.
BN: Let’s reflect on this journey, few years ago you were tasked to handle affairs of the second largest city in Zimbabwe that is the Great City of Bulawayo, how has been the journey so far?
CD: As you would know I joined the City of Bulawayo in October 2016 and I would like to say that the past few years have been an interesting journey. I knew from the very first day that my duty as Town Clerk will not be an easy one to accomplish as it required me to visualize the direction that the organisation should follow and achieve during my term of office. Leading the second largest City is no easy feat and my wish and objectives have been for the City to achieve its status as a smart City and as a leader in local governance excellence.
To do this, my task has been to re-engineer Bulawayo into a strong international brand and my aim has been to achieve this through the City’s vision of a leading smart, transformative City by 2025. The course of the journey from 2016 to date has been to try and do this by ensuring that our business processes have productivity, establish efficient financial cycles and also improve the quality of service. It has been a hard task, because at the present moment, the City of Bulawayo is facing huge infrastructure challenges which are as a result of many years of neglect. This has been due to the lack of an operations and maintenance budget and at the moment most of our infrastructure is in dire need of repair. In the water sector, this has been coupled by subsequent years of droughts which have put our dams in a very poor state.
During my time as Town Clerk, I have sought to try and ensure that we attend to the maintenance gaps in water, sanitation, roads, parks and all other services. These have not been easy due to the city’s precarious financial position and I will continue to strive in the next few months to see the finalization of proposals and strategies we have put in place.
To be able to do all these aspects, I would like to appreciate Team Bulawayo that has been hard at work despite the shortage of resources to ensure that we continue to grow and champion Bulawayo’s development.
BN: You are at the helm of the City of Bulawayo as the Town Clerk you have worked with different Councillors, different Mayors, how is it like as a leader working with politicians?
CD: The current Council is the third that I have worked with. I joined the City of Bulawayo from Victoria Falls where I was a Town Clerk and already worked with Councillors, Mayors and different politicians. I think what one needs to understand in such a position is their role and responsibility which is clearly outlined in the Urban Councils Act. I am not a politician and as such I serve Bulawayo as a public servant. I have worked well with all the Councils especially the Mayor as I have to engage the office of the Mayor in my day-to-day duties as a leader of the Council.
As people work together there are bound to be clashes and one of the lessons I have learnt is to ensure that where there have been challenges or clashes, these are managed immediately. Through continuous leadership development and trainings, I have managed to facilitate interactive sessions between myself and policymakers and also with Council management. I have an open-door policy where I encourage Councillors to speak to me as the Accounting Officer of the City on issues that may arise regarding service delivery.
With the current Council and the Mayor, we now have scheduled regular meetings with Chairpersons and Heads of Departments where we also thrash out service delivery issues outside the Committee meetings for the attainment of the City’s vision. These have ensured that Councillors know in detail the challenges we face as staff and we are also aware of the issues arising in each of their wards and we all develop the necessary solutions. In brief, it has been a worthwhile experience where I have learnt a lot.
BN: Bulawayo has been facing one of the difficult periods that is the issue of the water crisis and you have been in charge of the City’s affairs – what do you think is the ultimate solution for Bulawayo’s water crisis.
CD: When I joined the City of Bulawayo the dams were low (31.81%) and Council had resolved to implement water shedding. At the present moment, our dams are currently, 26.56%. The water crisis for the City has been our major challenge with poor rainfalls experienced over the years.
Despite the infrastructure investment which was done under the Bulawayo Water and Sewerage Services Improvement (BWSSIP) Project, the lack of water in our dams has made it impossible for the residents to feel the impact of the great infrastructure work done.
The solution to the City’s water crisis is to build additional water sources. The Government of Zimbabwe is working on the Gwayi/ Shangani Dam which is expected to solve the City’s Water crisis. Our understanding is that once complete the dam will supply the City with about 220 Mega litres of water per day and this is already above the City’s current water demand of 165 ML/ day.
The private sector proposal for the Glass Block Dam is also key for Bulawayo’s water challenges. The City has received the technical and financial feasibility studies and we await Cabinet approval and the construction of the dam which is also estimated to bring in 70ML/ day.
The City of Bulawayo is also looking into underground water reservoir development within the City (Nketa/ Emganwini) and in other areas such as Hope Fountain. We have had private sector presentations on the possible underground water capabilities and we are also planning on conducting our own council-led feasibility studies on these alternative sources of water. Above all, we need to lower our non-revenue water and plug all the leaks and bursts which are causing water losses Citywide. The City through the Ministry of Water Technical Committee has identified short, medium and long-term solutions which will also contribute to this.
BN: You are viewed as a man of few words, always quiet and you have been able to deliver and make sure Bulawayo runs smooth, what can you say is the secret ingredient to running such a big city?
CD: The secret ingredient is having a team that has Bulawayo’s success at heart. The developments taking place in Bulawayo cannot be attributed to me alone but the men and women who work for the City and the able leadership of the Mayor and his Councillors.
The City of Bulawayo’s strategy over the past few years has been a growth strategy focused on Renewal, stabilisation and growth and in that regard, we have focused on ensuring recovery and growth in service delivery. We are focused on rehabilitating infrastructure, facilitating smart innovations in service delivery, and engaging residents and stakeholders.
Several milestones have been made in a number of areas over the years in service delivery such as water and sanitation with the relaying of new water and sewer pipes, strengthening of the internal systems through organizational structural alignment, recruitment of the much needed staff and improving efficiency and effectiveness. Continuous strides are being made to improve revenue collection efficiency so as to enhance service delivery and financial stability of the City. We have adopted a smart city concept in line with our vision of being a leading smart and transformative City by 2025. The City of Bulawayo has aligned its vision and strategic plan to the National Development Strategy 1 and the national vision to be an Upper-Class Middle Income Society by 2030.
These activities are being done in line with the 7 key strategic pillars in a drive to ensure strategic growth. These are as follows
The Pillars
Pillar 1 – Sustainable Institutional Resources;
Pillar 2 – Private Sector Led Economic Renewal;
Pillar 3 – Renewed Public Infrastructure & Quality Utilities;
Pillar 4 – Excellent Modernized Social Services & Safe Secure Environment;
Pillar 5 – Good governance, Leadership Excellence, Resilient Human Capital;
Pillar 6 – Service Excellence: Engaged Empowered & Satisfied Stakeholders; and
Pillar 7- Managing the Business of the City.
BN: Bulawayo was once of the cleanest city, I once saw you moving around City Hall talking to Honda fit drivers and vendors there around having a clean working environment, am sure you have walked around 6th Avenue around peak hours and seen the number of vendors there, how can Bulawayo go back to its former glory in terms of being cleaner City?
CD: The City can only go back to its glory days of being a cleaner City if ALL the residents of the City and all visitors decide to respect our streets and stop littering. It’s a collective responsibility to keep our City clean. If you find yourself throwing litter on the ground or out of a moving vehicle, then you are part of the problem. It’s everyone’s role and responsibility to ensure that Bulawayo becomes cleaner. Over the years, people have adopted a culture of littering and we need to remember that is not part of who we are and part of our culture. People have also adopted irresponsible behaviour such as fouling, sleeping on the streets and selling from undesignated places.
The City did face its challenges with refuse collection with our refuse trucks breaking down and we had delays in collecting refuse. Despite these challenges, efforts were made to ensure timeous refuse collection takes place in conjunction with community truck owners. These cover the high density areas and parts of the Central Business District. The other parts of the Central Business District and low density areas are covered by the Council refuse compactors. The truckers as per the agreement begin after 06:30 hours to ensure that residents are not disadvantaged. With timeous refuse collection and responsible behaviour, the City of Bulawayo would definitely be a lot cleaner.
BN: Egodini Mall project, it was opened last year, 2023, thus phase 1 we saw motorists going back there and vendors also moving back but we still see some vending in town and pirating kombis – In your own view why you do think vendors and motorists shy away from going to Egodini?
CD: It’s a challenge to clearly say what causes vendors and kombis to shy away from using Egodini. My thoughts are that we have become people who prefer lawlessness over order and adhering to laws. The use of Egodini for Kombi’s in line with the Public Transport Policy, the City By laws and National laws and also paying the necessary fees. The City encourages members of the public as well to use the regulated Termini for the safety of the public. It is us members of the public who go to 6th Avenue and other illegal ranks. If we all made our way to the regulated ranks, there would be no Kombis going to the illegal sites. My concern and worry is on our behaviour as a society as we don’t need to be policed to go to the right places but it should be an individual introspection of whether I am doing the right thing.
Similarly, informal traders follow where the traffic is and that is why some have followed the illegal kombis to 6th Avenue. The challenge is also people not wanting to pay for the licences to trade in designated sites. It is maybe a reflection of the economic challenges we face as a nation. The economic landscape and lack of employment maybe a contributing factor as well.
BN: Now let’s move to infrastructure around the City, we are seeing developments happening in the CBD, one way lanes being developed, roads being rehabilitated, speak to us more around this?
CD: The City of Bulawayo has been working on rehabilitating the Roads City wide. Based on the 2016/17 road condition survey, 75% of the City’s road network was reported in poor condition and requiring major rehabilitation works. We are unable to ascertain if the percentage has decreased or increased over the years without another road condition survey to compare with.
These surveys are done at a national level and are supposed to be conducted every 5 years. The 2016/17 road condition survey remains the most recent survey, though now outdated.
Approximately US$700 million is required to bring the network to a good condition, and to a relatively modest road system. To increase the City’s road network to good by 15% (360km) in the next 5 years, a minimum level of investment of US$15 million per annum is required. Year on year, budget allocations have compared unfavourably with funding considered inadequate to maintain the road network. The current level of funding is about US$ 1 million per year which is around 6.7% of the actual required levels. This means that the City will not be able to catch up with the road maintenance needs at this rate.
The creation of one-way lanes has been to improve the state of the road network. The Works involve reconstruction, resurfacing, reinstating of carriageway markings and other general maintenance cyclical works. The works are to prolong the life of the road pavements, improve road safety, traffic flows and ride quality.
BN: TTI is the talk of the town and many motorists have complained about this parking system, have you received any complaints this far and are you happy with the parking system set in place and the public at times ask where is the parking money going, maybe give us a clear perspective on what is being done with that revenue.
CD: The Parking Management Project is a partnership between the City of Bulawayo and Tendy Three Investments (TTI) (Pvt) Ltd. This project aims to bring about a world-class parking management solution for the City of Bulawayo. The city entered into this partnership because previously we were operating a semi-computerised parking management system whereby motorists purchased computer-recorded parking disks [booklets] from the Revenue Hall and would then display them on vehicle windscreens when in parking bays.
Monitoring was done manually by Parking Assistants manning the parking bays around the City who checked the availability and validity of parking disks displayed by motorists. Tickets [fines] were issued to the motorists who failed to display a valid parking disk. However, this parking
management system had numerous challenges chiefly being that the computer application in use, only worked in the office and was not available to those that were in the field to check the outstanding vehicle tickets and for online payment in parking bays.
Another challenge was inadequate staffing as there were few Parking Assistants to fully manage the parking bays city wide. This had resulted in inadequate monitoring and loss of revenue as vehicles overstayed in parking bays as well as misuse of parking bays by car cleaners, illegal money exchanges, mechanics and public transporters.
Council due to lack of funding and capacity sought to engage an Investor who was willing to go into partnership with Council on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. The PPP arrangement chosen was the Build, Operate and Transfer.
There are a number of benefits of the project which include;
Improved revenue collection.
Decongest the City.
Reduce carbon emissions and impact of climate change in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Restore “smart city” image of the city.
The City of Bulawayo is aware of the complaints that have been received and the parking funds have been used to improve the road network in the City. Most of the ongoing road rehabilitation projects in the Central Business District have been funded by the parking fees for example, George Silundika Street.
BN: Your contract just got renewed for another year as the Town Clerk of Bulawayo,you have served our city well, and how should the residents remember when you retire?
CD: My vision when I joined the City of Bulawayo was to create a city of integrity and excellent service delivery. It has not been easy to do this with the financial and resource challenges Council faces but my hope is that all the efforts that I have made to enhance and improve service delivery will be recognized in the years to come. I hope I will be remembered for re-engineering business processes in the City and improving organisational financial soundness, enhanced public image and integrity.
