There was pandemonium at Unit L Seke Hall today on Thursday when various Chitungwiza residents associations took turns to lambast council management and the Councillors led by His Worship Cllr Lovemore Maiko over its contact to service delivery.
The meeting which was an engagement exercise between the Maiko led council, residents leadership and stakeholders with the effort to reaffirm residents confidence in the council turned out chaotic as residents poured out their dissatisfaction over council operations.
The stakeholders meeting which started with His Worship Cllr Lovemore Maiko outlining His vision and an attempt to exonerate council choosing to smear campaign the state of council business to the state of the economy, however, this did not go down well with residents who choose not to agree with the Mayor’s assertions.
Residents were also baying for the blood of the town clerk Mr George Makunde whom they accused of being masterminding the shenanigans at the Council.
“This discussion would have been more effective had the town clerk been available for he is the one who was supposed to be responding to some of the burning concerns that us residents leadership have”, lamented Alice Kuvheya who is the director of Chitungwiza Residents Trust.
Speaking to this publication, Mayor Mayiko admitted to having inherited a lot of challenges chief among them distrust towards council operations hence an effort to engage the community in this manner.
“We have hygiene issues to deal with and that’s of regaining residence trying to gain confidence hence we have chosen to change the tradition of doing stakeholders meeting out of Chitungwiza but rather seek solutions from the residents themselves in this manner.
Among other issues raised by residents, leadership was that of poor service delivery ranging from non-refuse collection to which council chose to blame the fuel situation prevailing in the country.
However, residents could not have anything of that urging councillors and management to cut their fuel allocations in order to address the refuse collection issue.
Eddington Shayanewako coordinator for Chitungwiza Community Development Network reiterated that councillors and administration should prioritise service delivery.
“The council should cut on their fuel allocations and rationalise and provide fuel for refuse collection trucks which helps in bringing sanity in our communities”, he said
There was an outcry over the continued occupation of open spaces by land barons to which residents said there were nothing called land barons but councillors themselves were behind the illegal sale of open spaces.
Other residents organisations present at today’s meeting were Chitungwiza and Manyame Residents Association (CAMERA), Chitungwiza Progressive Residents Association, Chitungwiza Residents and Rate Payers Association CHIRRA, Chitungwiza Community Development Network among
