BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) management has been warned to pull up its socks and ensure the city is transformed to its former glory.
This comes as service delivery standards in the city continue to tumble which has resulted in numerous demonstrations from concerned residents. Government officials and civic leaders have also raised concern on the deteriorating standards in the city.
Addressing councillors before the first full council meeting of the year last Wednesday, Bulawayo
Mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni, said the time had come for both council management and councillors to put their hands on the deck and deliver real transformation to residents.
“2023 is a marathon year. Residents expect much from us in the remaining six or seven months of our term. In our end of year message; we promised to serve better in 2023. As councillors we must not abdicate our oversight role on management via the committees that we sit in and surrender it to staff.
“Management must research on issues that we raise in our meetings and bring about options for us to deliberate and make policies. All resolutions that we have made in the past four years must be accounted for. In the next six or seven months of this council, we don’t want to hear a councillor who stands up to praise management for patronage purposes, you can drink your coffee out there; but in this chamber we mean business”, said Clr Mguni.
He implored council committees to come up with strategies on how to improve efficiency in their line of duty.
“We don’t want to hear that you have no bins. Use the power of public-private partnership. The question will be asked as to what we are doing with contracts and partnerships that we control? Talk of Egodini Mall redevelopment, the recycling and waste to energy project that has not been consummated?
Developers who were given housing stands but have not even started bush clearance?
“Our management must think outside the box. You need to be creative, innovative and embrace change. It can’t be business as usual in 2023, we can’t be using slashers to cut grass yet there are portable motorised grass cutters. We have only one year left to achieve a leading, smart and transformative city by year 2024, yet we still use 1994 service delivery methods,” said the Mayor.
He said this year the local authority could not afford to keep on paying sweepers to clean front of residential and business premises, yet there are owners who are doing business and making money and generating waste from those buildings.
“There are lots of waste pickers and recycling groups that are crying out loud for empowerment. Litter has become today’s raw material. Why are we not taking advantage of that to reduce the burden of refuse collection and channel that money to other uses? Some want to do waste to energy like biogas. Let’s strengthen our policies. I know that the city fathers stand ready to approve policies that are meant to improve service delivery.
“Town clerk, there are a lot of expressions of interests that are gathering dust in drawers of senior managers. These range from solar street lighting, road signage and advertising, amusement parks and the Ascot smart city; to mention but a few. We must approve and finalise these projects by April 2023,” said Clr Mguni.
He further emphasised that there can be no transformation in the city if the local authority’s management is not innovative; creative and embracing change.
“That transformation must be felt by an ordinary resident in Makokoba, Cowdray Park, Sizinda, Nkulumane, Hillside and Burnside among others but first we start with the Central Business District,” said the Mayor. – Sunday News
