In a shocking development, Harare City Council is failing to pay for data services and this has left staff members failing to do virtual trainings and councillors failing to download minutes of past meetings.
The startling revelations were made by mayor Jacob Mafume during a full council meeting yesterday.
Mafume said he received a letter dated March 28 from the City of Munich’s department of labour and economic development about the lack of internet connectivity.
“The absence of internet connection at Cleveland has affected the training of staff officers in Munich. This is unacceptable because everywhere now there is internet, even in lodges they now provide Wi-Fi,” he said.
Mafume said his counterparts in Germany had given him an April 17 deadline to address the issue.
Harare and Munich have held exchange programmes that have seen councillors and staff from the two cities paying reciprocal visits to learn and exchange best practices.
Councilors also revealed that they have not accessed minutes of several sub-committee meetings because they failed to download the documents. The City of Munich has in the past assisted Harare with medical supplies while businessmen from that city donated a generator to power the Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital.
Twinning arrangements are meant to help both cities in the area of tourism, exchange of information and expertise in urban planning, architecture, municipal improvements, transport, communications and urban governance and culture. – NewsDay
