Voting incompetent councillors into councils is to blame for poor service delivery apart from other challenges faced by local authorities across the country, Bulawayo residents said Wednesday.
In the past 10 years, there have been complaints of poor service delivery in Bulawayo despite the city being considered the best run in the country.
Speaking Wednesday on This Morning on Asakhe, a programme hosted by CITE on Twitter spaces, participants said the quality of councillors will always determine the services to be received.
The topic for discussion was the impact of recalls on service delivery.
One of the participants, Thabani Sibanda said there was no need for local authorities to give excuses for failing to deliver, adding recalls or sanctions should not be used as scapegoats.
“I think we’re making excuses for some of the money stolen,” he said.
He added that while there could be interference in the administration of local authorities by the Ministry of Local Government that should not be used as an excuse by councils for failing to deliver.
Zenzele Ndebele said the quality of councillors elected into office has been declining since 2000.
“In 2000 the quality of the councillors was good but it has been going down and I think I’m sorry to say 2013 and 2018 were the worst, “said Ndebele.
“The people that we voted for have no capacity to run their own homes, some of them can’t even run a tuckshop, but they are councillors. So how are they going to challenge a town clerk, a director of housing or engineer?”
ZAPU secretary-general, Mthulisi Hanana challenged residents to demand better services.
“The primary and foundational stage of revolution is mobilizing people to resist,” said Hanana.
“It is mobilising people to define it, it is mobilising people to demand what is due to them. So this is the kind of council that we envisage under ZAPU. Look at the issue of parking. People had complained about parking and for 2-3 weeks then they went quiet. Now they’re starting to park because the government also knows that if you ignore these people, eventually they give in. Eventually, they oblige.”
