Zanu PF councilors in Hwange Rural District Council (RDC) yesterday threw their support behind a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Ward 9 councillor, Pascar Mpofu, whom they elected as the council’s chairperson.
This is the first time that the Hwange RDC has had an opposition councillor as chair as it has always been dominated by Zanu PF since 2013.
Results from the elections on Thursday indicate that some Zanu PF council members supported the opposition candidate.
Zanu PF and CCC have 12 councillors each while one is an independent and the other is from MDC-T.
Mpofu won this year after serving as deputy to Zanu PF councillor Mathew Muleya of Ward 19 in 2018, who was running for re-election to Hwange’s top position.
The incoming council chairperson received 17 votes, beating Muleya, who had nine votes.
Mpofu’s win heralds the coming in of an oppositional councillor to chair the local authority after Zanu PF had been claiming the position for years starting with Siphiwe Mafuwa, who was counci chair from 2013 to 2018.
Hwange RDC has 26 councillors, of which 20 were directly elected and six came from the Women’s Quota.
The councillors were all sworn in and inducted into office last week, paving way for the election of committees.
Mpofu will be deputised by Ward 1 councillor, Vulindlela Mhlanga of Zanu-PF who polled nine votes, beating a CCC councillor.
The local authority has 20 wards.
