The Aldermen’s Forum of Bulawayo said it would wait for the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to release findings on the city council before making any recommendations on how the municipality should be managed.
Last week, the local government ministry deployed a team to probe allegations of corruption and mismanagement in Bulawayo City Council.
The team has since concluded its investigations but is yet to release the findings.
Worried by the current negative turn of the city council, the aldermen met Bulawayo mayor, Solomon Mguni for a full brief Tuesday afternoon.
The aldermen’s forum is made up of former Bulawayo councillors who served the city with dignity.
Speaking at a presser soon after the closed-door meeting, Chairperson of the Aldermen’s Forum, Phineas Ndlovu, said they condemned what transpired in the council offices but were encouraged by the mayor’s feedback who assured them situation was back to normal.
However, the aldermen noted they would wait for a comprehensive report from the Local Government ministry to give a full account of what transpired.
“We met with the mayor and he briefed us about the matter that took place two weeks ago at council. He said the issue is before the courts. However, as the aldermen we are waiting to review the outcome that comes from the Ministry of local Government whose team in on the ground investigating,” he said.
Alderman Ndlovu said he and his counterparts would not take a side, neither would they call for setting up a commission to run the city or dissolution of council but would only make a decision based on the report from the government.
“As it is, we cannot recommend any action such as we need a commission to manage the Bulawayo council or to say the councillor have to be expelled. We are waiting for the outcome from the Ministry of Local Governance’s probe team then we can make our own conclusion and recommendations,” he explained.
The alderman emphasised that from the situation now, they had no reason to advocate for a commission.
“As aldermen we are not part of those calling for a commission, we do not have a reason to say we want this commission. All we can say for now is that we understood the testimony given by the Mayor without taking sides but following on what he told us, we are just waiting for the final verdict from the Ministry’s commission.” he said.
Alderman Ndlovu added that they would also proceed with investigations of their own.
“We are not saying we will change anything from the local government’s report but we need to know the truth of what happened. It is our wish to have a dialogue with these councillors and map a way forward. We are not blaming anyone at the moment since we do not have a verdict yet and what is important for now is to put the City of Bulawayo first before anyone.”
He said as the aldermen of Bulawayo, they would assist to make sure the city regains its lustre.
“We do not like what happened here in the City and we want councillors and management to work as a team for the future of our town,” he said.
