(NEWZIMBABWE) MDC-T stunned as councillors vote for Zanu PF mayors
16/09/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE MDC-T's troubles looked to deepen Monday as it lost mayoral elections in Kwekwe, Redcliff and Victoria Falls after its councillors defied the party whip and voted for Zanu PF candidates.
The party hierachy downplayed the significance of the development, rejecting claims the apparent revolt was sparked by a widely-criticised attempt to impose unelected officials as mayors.
“We have not yet received a full report of what transpired. It will be surprising if MDC-T councillors would vote for Zanu PF mayors. It is strange,” said national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora.
“We are waiting for a full report from our people on the ground. We will look into how voting went. Any political party worth its salt would look into that.
“If people were not happy with external mayors (unelected mayors the MDC-T had initially imposed), they were given an opportunity to vote for an internal mayor.
“Those who voted for Zanu PF are people who do not want democracy as they were given an opportunity to elect among themselves.”
In the Midlands city of Kwekwe, where the 14-wards are evenly split between the two rival parties, Zanu PF’s Matenda Madzoke won with nine votes meaning two MDC-T councillors did not back the party’s own candidate.
And in nearby, Redcliff, Zanu PF only holds two of the nine wards but the party’s pick for mayor, Freddy Kapuya, won the election with five votes, meaning three MDC-T councillors defied the party whip.
After the vote, a pleasantly surprised Kapuya commented: “It's a miracle. I attribute it to the councillors who did not use party politics and elected me to be their leader.
“They looked for someone who can take Redcliff to the next stage. The councillors must be saluted for realising the potential in me.”
In the resort town of Victoria Falls, Zanu PF only holds three of the ten wards but the party’s candidate for mayor won the elections with six votes, meaning three MDC-T councillors defied their party.
Commenting on the upsets, Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said: “We welcome this significant development. It augurs well for the party and shows that even our rivals are now realising that it is only Zanu PF that can deliver.
“It shows people are now supporting Zanu PF. We need to continue working with the people and working on programmes that attract opposition members. We should be able to control Harare and Bulawayo soon.”
Labels: MAYOR, MDC, ZANU-PF
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(NEWZIMBABWE) MDC-T stunned as councillors vote for Zanu PF mayors
16/09/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
THE MDC-T's troubles looked to deepen Monday as it lost mayoral elections in Kwekwe, Redcliff and Victoria Falls after its councillors defied the party whip and voted for Zanu PF candidates.
The party hierachy downplayed the significance of the development, rejecting claims the apparent revolt was sparked by a widely-criticised attempt to impose unelected officials as mayors.
“We have not yet received a full report of what transpired. It will be surprising if MDC-T councillors would vote for Zanu PF mayors. It is strange,” said national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora.
“We are waiting for a full report from our people on the ground. We will look into how voting went. Any political party worth its salt would look into that.
“If people were not happy with external mayors (unelected mayors the MDC-T had initially imposed), they were given an opportunity to vote for an internal mayor.
“Those who voted for Zanu PF are people who do not want democracy as they were given an opportunity to elect among themselves.”
In the Midlands city of Kwekwe, where the 14-wards are evenly split between the two rival parties, Zanu PF’s Matenda Madzoke won with nine votes meaning two MDC-T councillors did not back the party’s own candidate.
And in nearby, Redcliff, Zanu PF only holds two of the nine wards but the party’s pick for mayor, Freddy Kapuya, won the election with five votes, meaning three MDC-T councillors defied the party whip.
After the vote, a pleasantly surprised Kapuya commented: “It's a miracle. I attribute it to the councillors who did not use party politics and elected me to be their leader.
“They looked for someone who can take Redcliff to the next stage. The councillors must be saluted for realising the potential in me.”
In the resort town of Victoria Falls, Zanu PF only holds three of the ten wards but the party’s candidate for mayor won the elections with six votes, meaning three MDC-T councillors defied their party.
Commenting on the upsets, Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said: “We welcome this significant development. It augurs well for the party and shows that even our rivals are now realising that it is only Zanu PF that can deliver.
“It shows people are now supporting Zanu PF. We need to continue working with the people and working on programmes that attract opposition members. We should be able to control Harare and Bulawayo soon.”
Labels: MAYOR, MDC, ZANU-PF
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Zambia needs to address inequality - Wignaraja
By Abigail Chaponda in Nakonde
Wed 17 July 2013, 14:01 CAT
UNITED Nations resident coordinator Kanni Wignaraja says Zambia needs to address inequity and inequality before it breaks the country's backbone.
During the Local Government Association of Zambia and 10th Alliance of Mayors and Municipal leaders (AMICAALL) general conference in Nakonde, Wignaraja said despite Zambia recording a steady growth, good macro policies that stabilised inflation and brought more foreign direct investment, nearly half of the country's population still lived in extreme poverty and cannot fully meet their family's basic needs.
"The story of inequality is as alarming….. points to the growing gaps between the rich and the poor. This undermines all other gains. We cannot grow and sustain a prosperous and peaceful country for all Zambian if our women are paid so less and are only a fraction of our representational leadership, if our daughters don't get to finish secondary school, if our rural youths remain jobless and our farmers cannot get their produce to the market. We have to address inequity and inequality before it breaks the very back bone of our countries and turns into a sense of injustices," she said.
She also expressed dismay at the growing inequalities and the limited opportunities to gain quality secondary education.
"The post national dialogue across all the provinces came back to the number one priority that all young Zambians see as what holds the key to their future, a quality education. Over and over again, this is what was voted in the biggest game changer that will make the difference. And yet today, only about one-tenth of those children who enter our primary schools actually complete secondary school. So what is happening along the way to the rest and what a heavy, heavy cost to the government and the families and what a loss to the country," she said.
Labels: AMICAALL, KANNI WIGNARAJA, MAYOR
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Curbing Masunda’s corporate incest
By Tafadzwa MusararaCompanies, Politics Last updated on: February 3, 2012
BULAWAYO-BORN Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda is the chairman of nine private sector boards and director in three others. Masunda is the chairman of Old Mutual, a British-owned and controlled insurance firm which is the biggest resident in Harare. He is also the chairman of the Commercial Arbitration Centre housed at CABS Centre, a building owned by Old Mutual.
The mayor also chairs the John Sisk & Son board, a construction company that undertakes most of Old Mutual projects. He also chairs boards of directors of Siemens, Lafarge, Atlas Copco, Harare Innercity Partnership, Coates Bros and is a director for Meikles, Zimplats, Zimbabwe Alloys, HIB Holdings and Bindura Nickel Corporation. He also sits on the High Court and Supreme Court Rules Committee.
With all these appointments, one is persuaded to think that Masunda is the last born in this country.
What is most worrying is his continued presence in leadership in both private and public sectors concurrently. Such practice, in the main, yields a high fertile ground for corruption, nepotism and all other vices.
London mayor Boris Johnson, Washington DC mayor Vincent Gray and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa all resigned from private sector engagements when they took over their jobs. The reason is clear: to avoid overlaps and possible conflict of interest.
Here in Zimbabwe, Masunda is on absolute free reign. He continues to be chairman of Old Mutual and being Mayor of Harare. What happens when Old Mutual complains to the city of Harare over water rates? Will the City of Harare official apply their mind independently fully knowing that the boss has interests?
At the moment, Masunda is investigating businessman Phillip Chiyangwa’s acquisition of land owned by the City of Harare. Without trying to exonerate Chiyangwa on the matter, speculation is rife that the same land Chiyangwa took was also being eyed by Old Mutual, which is chaired by Masunda. Further, the appointed panel for the Tribunal is believed to be associated with the Commercial Arbitration Centre. The independence of the appointed judges becomes questionable.
It is this duplicity of roles, which compromise Masunda every time he makes a decision.
What is more painful to note is that if an Old Mutual tenant is in dispute with his/her landlord, the lease agreement (section 41) excludes the rent board to preside on such matters. The dispute has to go to compulsory arbitration at the Commercial Arbitration Centre, which Masunda is also chairs.
By virtue of being the chairman, Masunda has tremendous influence in appointing arbitrators. Surely, we do not need to learn rocket science to realise that the impartiality of the arbitrators is heavily compromised. By allowing Masunda to be chairman while also running Harare, Old Mutual is also proving that it is bankrupt in corporate governance.
Masunda is also the chairman of construction company, John Sisk & Son. Not even the worst fool would accept that the projects the company gets from Old Mutual are not a result of Masunda’s undue influence.
Does John Sisk & Son get cement from Lafarge at the same price with other construction companies given that the two companies have the same chairman?
Masunda is also a director of Meikles Limited where Old Mutual has a significant shareholding but this time represents the Moxon Meikles Family Trust which has more than 52% controlling interest. What happens if Old Mutual and this Trust clash? During the Nigel Chanakira debacle, Old Mutual saw things differently from the Moxon clan.
Masunda also sits on the boards of Zimplats, Anglo American plc, Zimbabwe Alloys and Bindura Nickel Corporation. These mining houses have in a way contesting interests and do not want the other to be privy to its own operations. How does Masunda handle this? It’s also obvious that Atlas Copco get the lion share of orders in these companies.
There is no place in the civilised world where you can find a public official deeply involved with private companies as much as Masunda. No society would tolerate an individual to have both private and public appointment at the same time.
The MDC is silent on the matter and is failing to realise that its appointee is a huge liability. The MDC can no longer speak against such practices in future should they be repeated by other political parties’ appointees. Where the hell is Transparency International? Why is Dr John Makumbe quiet? Is it because Masunda is one of their own?
The Minister of Local Government must confront Masunda to choose to be either in private or the public sector. Equally, all these companies he is part of their boards must, for once, have conscience and demand Masunda to resign either as mayor or as board member.
Old Mutual, a conglomerate listed in London and South Africa, must be upfront on this matter and declare if it allows politicians to chair their boards. We need to know so that we can give Old Mutual political treatment.
Masunda must also realise that the misconduct of some or all his private companies he represents compromise his mayorship. For example, Old Mutual fraudulently absolved itself from pension and policy payouts and this disadvantaged many pensioners who are now failing to pay for their council rates. The council, which he chairs, is now attaching the property of the same pensioners which Old Mutual pauperised.
This double dealing by Masunda must come to an end or it will end the little remnants of corporate governance in Zimbabwe.
As if the foregoing was not bad enough to stomach, Masunda is also a member of the High Court and Supreme Court Rules Committee where he sets the court rules. You couldn’t make it up!
Labels: HARARE, MAYOR, MDC CORRUPTION, MUCHADEYI MASUNDA, NEOLIBERALISM
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Mayor wants minister fired
Sunday, 24 April 2011 22:15
By Michael Chideme
ACTING Bindura Mayor Ivory Matanhire (MDC-T) and four councillors from her party are demanding immediate expulsion of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Deputy Minister Sessel Zvidzai, whom they describe as
unfit to hold such a senior Government portfolio.The five accuse Mr Zvidzai of
"gross favou-ritism, divisiveness and working to destroy everyone". "We are MDC-T councillors and
the party will be shocked to find out the kind of damage he has done," claim the five.
Although Mr Zvidzai could not be reached for comment, Acting Mayor Clr Matanhire, Clrs Elizabeth Mafios, Rindai Muchemwa, Mr Daniso Wakatama and Christopher Mazembe visited The Herald on Thursday last week and alleged they are part of a team of councillors from 10 local authorities that met recently and petitioned MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai to relieve Mr Zvidzai of his party and Government duties.
Recently Mr Zvidzai declared that he donated the disgruntled councillors to Zanu-PF.
Their beef with Mr Zvidzai stems from his interference in the management of Bindura Municipality and his open bias against some councillors in favour of a select few. Mr Zvidzai wants suspended Mayor Tinashe Madamombe reinstated while the MDC-T recognises dismissed councillor Mr Wakatama as mayor.
Mr Zvidzai is fighting hard to have Clr Mada-mombe reinstated against the recommendations of the full council which alleges that they cannot work with Clr Madamombe.
Clr Matanhire said the council had approached Mr Zvidzai on several occasions seeking his intervention to resolve the issue of Clr Madamombe, but Mr Zvidzai instead took sides and supported Clr Madamombe.
The council then resolved to approach Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo at which point Mr Zvidzai accused the councillors of dining with Zanu-PF.
"After we realised that the Urban Councils' Act is silent on the role of the Deputy Minister, we decided to approach Minister Chombo who is our boss," said Clr Matanhire.
Clr Muchemwa said he no longer recognises Mr Zvidzai as his boss.
"I no longer recognise him as my Deputy Minister. He is wrongly articulating the party position. Our party recognises Mr Daniso Wakatama as mayor. His communication is parallel to party directives," he said.
Clr Muchemwa accused Mr Zvidzai of selective support to suspended and dismissed MDC-T councillors.
"When Mr Wakatama and Mr Mazembe were suspended and eventually dismissed by Minister Chombo he never raised a finger. What is so special with Clr Madamombe?" he said.
Mr Mazembe said Mr Zvidzai should show magnanimity and either support all party councillors or completely keep his silence.
Clr Mafios said if Mr Zvidzai maintained his stance that he donated them to Zanu-PF, he should fire them from MDC-T. "We are fed up with Mr Zvidzai. We better listen to party secretary general Mr Tendai Biti. His incapacity is the reason at one time Mr Tsvangirai appointed Mr Tapiwa Mashakada to probe the operations of local authorities. We are even comfortable with his deputy at the party Mr Last Maengahama.
"Our leader (Morgan Tsvangirai) should appoint a committee to probe Mr Zvidzai's performance in all local authorities. The party will be shocked," she said.
Labels: MAYOR, MDC, SESSEL ZVIDZAI
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‘Persecuted’ Victoria Falls mayor quits MDC-T
Monday, 27 December 2010 16:02 Local News
Victoria Falls mayor Councillor Nkosilathi Jiyane (MDC-T) has resigned from the Mr Morgan Tsvangirai-led political formation citing too much interference in his duties and persecution by party officials. This comes barely a week after the Kariba mayor, Clr Nicholas Hwindiri, also resigned from the MDC-T and is now running the town as an independent.
In a letter to Mr Vusumuzi Moyo, the MDC-T district chairman dated 17 December, Clr Jiyane said he was tired of interference in his duties by party officials including some youths.
Reads part of the letter: “I hereby would like to hand over my resignation from the party MDC-T. I would like to sincerely thank the party for grooming me into what I am today. I have grown within the party and learnt quite a lot in politics.
“However, I have found the conditions in my once beloved party very unconducive and therefore the natural action to take is to leave.”
Clr Jiyane said he was persecuted by councillors from his own party and the party itself during his tenure as mayor.
“I persevered through that and put the residents first. Through these persecutions a few party members like you and others came to my rescue. I was finally bailed out by residents through the Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association, civic activists, other political parties and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development. My party worsened the situation by putting me under a series of unnecessary investigations,” he said.
At one time Clr Jiyane was summoned for a hearing at the MDC-T headquarters at Harvest House in Harare but was absolved of any wrongdoing.
“In the MDC-T there are too many bosses to report to. One finds himself failing to satisfy all the bosses, the majority of whom do not even understand local governance. The said bosses range from youths to political structures that are clueless in local governance. This takes too much of our time as office bearers,” he said.
Clr Jiyane said the party's interference in his duties made his office dysfunctional.
“There is little time to concentrate on service delivery. This is counterproductive to the residents who chose me to work for them. The MDC-T has an agenda of recalling its office bearers from time to time. This puts too much uncertainty in office bearers leading to a syndrome or situation of Sword of Damocles,” he said.
Clr Jiyane also observed that there was no respect for elected officials in the MDC-T, saying “there was too much ridicule from the party youths and demeaning statements from senior members.
“There is too much indiscipline within the MDC-T such that holding a civic office under the MDC-T is hell on earth. One feels better respected when within other political parties’ members than one's. Lack of respect from party members leads to disrespect even from the residents,” he said.
Added Clr Jiyane: “The party interferes so much in council business to the point of almost paralysing council operations. There are too many misguided elements that form part of party caucuses. Such elements often come up with resolutions that should be implemented by us elected officials. Almost all such resolutions are implemented and ultravires the Urban Councils Act.”
He went on to accuse the MDC-T of even interfering in one's private life “to the point of souring relations at home”.
“With the above reasons and others which I felt could not be penned here I therefore found it prudent to quit the MDC-T and concentrate on service delivery which I was mandated by the residents to do. Let it be known that it is not my intention to denigrate anyone but highlight the misgivings of the party especially in Matabeleland North for the benefit of future office bearers,” Clr Jiyane said.
Mr Jiyane, who had been MDC-T councillor for nearly a decade, yesterday confirmed his resignation from MDC-T but was not comfortable with our Harare Bureau running the story.
Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Deputy Minister Murisi Zvidzai, who is also the MDC-T’s shadow local government secretary, would not be drawn into commenting on the matter yesterday.
“I have no comment,” he said.
Labels: MAYOR, MDC CORRUPTION, NKOSILATHI JIYANE
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COMMENT - I absolutely commend Mayor Dawn Mumbwe for her actions. It is often said that there is as much corruption at the council level as there is at the national level. However, this example proves that there are many more eyes on the money at the local level than there are at the national and ministerial level. Can anyone in the ministries or parliament call for the impeachment of any government minister or the president because of embezzlement of funds? So bravo to Mongu's Mayor Dawn Mumbwe.
Mongu mayor impeached for demanding probe into abused funds
By Mwala Kalaluka
Thu 07 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT
NEWLY-elected Mongu Mayor Dawn Mumbwe has been ‘impeached’ for insisting that town clerk Frank Kalenga should temporarily vacate office to allow for a probe in recent audit revelations that highlighted
rampant abuse of funds at the MMD-dominated local authority.But
Western Province minister Sikwibele Mwapela has warned that the MMD would lose the Mongu Central seat to the opposition if moves to discuss the audit report continued to be blocked.
Mumbwe confirmed in an interview that she was interdicted during a special council meeting she called to discuss the findings of an audit and inspection report covering the period September 2009 to April 2010 undertaken by an auditor from the Western Province Local Government Office.
Mumbwe said the special full council meeting was held in the Mongu Council chamber on October 2, 2010 to discuss the above audit and inspection report that implicated Kalenga and other council officers in the mismanagement of council funds and government grants.
She said before the meeting in question, Mongu Central MMD parliamentarian and deputy defence minister Joseph Mulyata called her and told her to stop pushing for the special council meeting to discuss the audit report. “He called me and threatened me that ‘Ms Mumbwe, if you continue calling for the special council meeting it will backfire on you and we are going to impeach you’ and it has happened,” Mumbwe said.
“I have been interdicted. I am still a Mayor but I have been interdicted. I was interdicted on the 2nd of October because instead of bringing the audit report, the town clerk prepared a document showing that I had abused my office.”
Mumbwe said grounds on which she was interdicted were that she had abused her office when she asked Kalenga through a letter dated September 17, 2010 to vacate office and hand-over the keys to her following his defiance in notifying the councillors of the special council meeting to discuss the audit report.
Another ground that was that Mumbwe lifted the suspension of a councillor who challenged Mulyata to explain the misapplication of Constituency Development Funds (CDF) in Mongu Central.
The document further stated that Mumbwe, who was elected as Mayor on September 8, 2010, had breached her oath of office when she allegedly divulged to the public the audit and inspection report before it could be considered by the council.
Mumbwe said during the special council meeting where she was interdicted, Mulyata chased some members of the public that came to follow the discussion on the audit report.
“Some stakeholders who were inside when they realised that it was not the about the audit report, they walked out,” Mumbwe said. “Currently workers have stayed for six months without being paid.”
Mumbwe said local government permanent secretary Timothy Hakuyu directed Mongu Council to discuss the audit report and send recommendations to his office but that Kalenga and the director of finance a Muyapekwa responded to the report and sent recommendations without the input from the councillors.
Mumbwe has since called on the Ministry of Local Government to constitute a different body to discuss the audit report and ignore Kalenga’s unilateral response.
But Mwapela, who is also MMD provincial secretary, has advised Mulyata not to block the deliberations on the audit report.
Mwapela said it was disappointing that MMD councillors were failing to work together and he asked Mulyata to be in the forefront and meet with the councillors to discuss the audit report.
“If the council has not done anything wrong, there is nothing to hide,” said Mwapela. “We are heading for election; if he continues with that kind of confusion, MMD will lose that seat, Mongu Central.”
Efforts to get a comment from Mulyata proved futile by press time.
Labels: AUDITING, CDF, CORRUPTION, DAWN MUMBWE, FRANK KALENGA, JOSEPH MULYATA, MAYOR, MMD, MONGU
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Bulawayo blows $65,000 on mayor's car
by Lunga Sibanda
11/03/2010 00:00:00
THE Bulawayo City Council has risked infuriating ratepayers by splashing US$65,000 on a new sports utility vehicle for
mayor, Thaba Moyo. Moyo took delivery of his new Chrysler 2.0l CRO Dodge Journey on March 4, just months after the MDC-T run council bought him a Mazda BT50.
Council spokeswoman Nesisa Mpofu confirmed the cost of the vehicle which joins the mayor’s pool which already boasts a ceremonial vintage black Rolls Royce, a Toyota Venture, a Nissan Pathfinder, a Prado, a Peugeot 504 sedan and the BT50.
Council sources say the original budget for the mayor’s car was US$46,000 – meaning the council spent US$19,000 more.
The mayor’s extravagant buy will outrage residents who last week presented a petition to Bulawayo Metropolitan Governor Cain Mathema, demanding a reduction in tariffs.
Thousands of city residents recently had their water supplies cut as the council intensifies its bid to recover about $14 million in unpaid rates.
The council also says it is owed US$3,7 million by various government departments, a situation which the city blames for its ineffectiveness in delivering reliable services to residents.
Labels: MAYOR, MDC CORRUPTION, THABA MOYO
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Sata calls for meeting with PF mayors
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sun 28 Feb. 2010, 04:30 CAT
PF leader Michael Sata yesterday addressed a meeting with mayors from PF-controlled councils on the Copperbelt and Lusaka provinces to discuss issues of development and service delivery.
Addressing the mayors at Lusaka Civic Centre, Sata charged that Vice-President George Kunda is a finished politician. He said finished politicians made a lot of noise.
Sata was commenting on Vice-President Kunda’s description of him as a mad and erratic person during meetings he addressed in some Eastern Province towns.
“Finished politicians make a lot of noise,” Sata said. “If you look at my friend with his…when he is in Livingstone he is talking about Michael Sata and the PF-UPND Pact.
When he is in Livingstone, he says I am mad and erratic. When he is Nyimba, I am mad and erratic. When he is in Petauke, I am mad and erratic. When he is in Katete, I am mad and erratic and the children are asking who this is? They will look at his undernourished lips.”
Sata said Vice-President Kunda’s attacks against him were an indication that he had nothing to offer the country.
He said the councillors in PF-controlled councils were very lucky because the MMD leadership, through its inexperience had pre-emptied their 2011 campaign strategy following the stance they had taken over the running of such local authorities.
“You are very lucky all of us who are here because if our colleagues in government and their associates were experienced politicians, they would not have revealed this idea now,” Sata said. “They have made this clear that this is what they are going to use for their campaigns.”
Sata said the meeting was organised against the backdrop of allegations by the MMD of non-performance by PF-controlled councils in Lusaka and the Copperbelt.
“We are meeting for the first time and from now onwards, we are going to have more regular meetings and meetings will not be concentrated in Lusaka. We will rotate even where we do not dominate councils. I thought I should call this meeting to share with you,” Sata said.
“At the moment our government has nothing to offer. They will rise to fight you people and when they fight I have told you several times, you find our colleague comrade President of the Republic of Zambia Mr. Rupiah Banda says you are not performing. I agree with him, you are not performing.”
Sata urged the councillors to use councils as a spring board.
“If you can’t even cut the grass at Nakatindi Hall, you are making yourself mincemeat for Rupiah. Comrade Rupiah Banda is very much aware, because Rupiah Banda took over from me as governor of Lusaka, that the source of income was very clear,” Sata said.
“Today the government is boasting that they evacuated those people from Misisi taking them to the Independence Stadium. How long are they going to be at Independence Stadium? Is that a permanent solution? And you are sitting here as a council.”
Sata said everyone would hammer the councillors if they failed to function.
“Is it going to be a yearly event that when the rains come, we lose lives?” Sata asked. “Do what you can within your limit. Next year when we come in government, we will show you. Next year it will be something else.”
Sata said the councillors should go on the rampage and tell their electorate on the operation constraints they were facing as councils.
“Ba Mayor, go and tell the people. You have to move with the people because if you don’t, the people, all of you, are going to lose elections,” said Sata.
Mayors from Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe, Chililabombwe, Mufulira and Chingola attended the meeting where they also presented their budgetary figures for the year 2010 and the disbursements of financial resources to their council for the previous years starting from 2006.
Labels: COUNCILS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MAYOR, PF, SATA
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MDC-T fires Masvingo mayor
TH/TZG
Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:38:00 +0000
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T’s provincial executive has dismissed Masvingo mayor Femius Chakabuda from the party, accusing him of corruption and insubordination.
The comes soon after the party read the riot act on its Chitungwiza executive, and the party’s UK, Ireland and South Africa branches. The party has also instituted inquiries into allegations of corruption in Bindura, Redcliff, Marondera and Kadoma.
MDC-T Masvingo provincial chairman Wilstaff Sitemere said Chakabuda’s unanimous dismissal followed a two-week probe.
"The provincial disciplinary committee sat Friday and came to that decision after a two-week probe on Chakabuda."
Some of the reasons cited for the dismissal relate to the allocation of stands and purchase of a Mercedes Benz.
It is alleged that Chakabuda sidelined MDC-T officials who were eyeing influential positions in council which went on to be occupied by persons who are said to have Zanu PF links.
Yesterday, MDC-T organising secretary Engineer Elias Mudzuri said their national executive was yet to receive information on the dismissal.
He indicated that the provincial executive had no power to deal with such matters and must refer any corruption allegations against the mayor to the national executive.
"The party constitution is clear that any person who is implicated in any misconduct should be brought before the disciplinary committee and the party’s standing committee is the only organ which is empowered to dismiss a person from the party.
"The issue of local governments is being handled by (deputy secretary-general Tapiwa) Mashakada and he has not tabled any document before the national executive," he said.
Observers said Chakabuda was being used as a sacrificial lamb to cover deep-rooted corruption in MDC-T.
"Chakabuda is just a sacrificial lamb in the MDC-T corruption saga and his immediate dismissal is a desperate and exhaustive measure to sanitise the party from for its corrupt activities"
Labels: FEMIUS CHAKABUDA, MASVINGO, MAYOR, MDC CORRUPTION
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Chikwelete asks home affairs ministry to account for K2bn
By Henry Sinyanwe
Thu 07 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT
LUSAKA Mayor Robert Chikwelete has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to account for the K2 billion that was spent on police officers deployed to remove street vendors.
Chikwelete said the bigger task of removing vendors from the streets was only done in three days while the rest of the days, officers were just spending time in the streets doing nothing.
“The actual removal of vendors was only done in less than three days and the rest of the days officers were found lazing around. We have not received any details on how the K 2 billion was spent by home affairs,” said Chikwelete.
And Lusaka City Council public relations manager Chanda Makanta has expressed disappointment at the lack of cooperation by the Ministry of Home Affairs saying that each time they needed their help, they had to spend large sums of money for their service.
“We all belong to Zambia and when it calls for duty, we should help each other and not only when there is money,” she said.
Asked on what the local authority was doing about the vendors that were back on the streets, Makanta said they have deployed council police and they also asked for help from the police but were only given 18 police officers who were placed at strategic positions.
She said council police, who are not armed when on duty, are usually harassed by the vendors hence the need for help from the Zambia Police.
“Inasmuch as these people need to feed their families from the street business, as a local authority we also have the duty to keep the city clean but we cannot do this alone. We need help from the police,” said Makanta.
However, when contacted for a comment, home affairs minister Lameck Mangani said the issues raised by the local authority were administrative.
Mangani said he had not been informed about any problems that the local authority was facing with his ministry.
Labels: MAYOR, MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, ROBERT CHIKWELETE
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Kunda asks mayors to desist from making political statements
By Agness Changala
Wed 28 Oct. 2009, 04:01 CAT
VICE-President George Kunda has asked mayors to desist from making statements that are perceived to be political. During the installation ceremony of the Lusaka mayor and his deputy on Monday, Vice-President Kunda said political partiality could not be entertained on the part of mayors, as they were civic leaders.
“I wish to comment with great concern on the recent press statement made by a named mayor regarding the presidential visit to Kasama. As a mayor, one becomes a city or municipal father/mother as such political partiality cannot be entertained,” he said.
Vice-President Kunda said political partiality in the administration of duties in the office of mayor was a drawback on the developmental efforts of the council.
Prior to the Kasama Central by-election, Kasama mayor Fidelis Chishoma warned that President Rupiah Banda should not be surprised if he received a hostile reception in Kasama for his bad leadership.
And Vice-President Kunda said this year's Constituency Development Funds (CDF) would only be released to the councils once they retired the funds, which were disbursed last year.
He said the management of CDF had remained a challenge for most councils.
He warned that the government would not tolerate the misuse and misappropriation of public funds.
Vice-President Kunda challenged councils in the country to devise alternative means of raising revenue.
“In particular, councils countrywide should intensify on the rate collection efforts. There are a lot of properties countrywide which should be included in the rating rolls of various councils,” Vice-President Kunda said.
Lusaka mayor Robert Chikwelete urged the central government to be effective enough by releasing funds on time.
Chikwelete said the K10 billion that was provided to the council for the construction and unblocking of drainages in the city was a drop in the ocean.
Chikwelete thanked his fellow councillors for re-electing him to serve as mayor of Lusaka and pledged his commitment to making the city better.
Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, KASAMA, MAYOR
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COMMENT - According to this article, Muchadeyi Ashton Masunda is the mayor of Harare (
Masunda officially installed as Mayor). Mrs. Fikile Masunda must be his wife? The MDC is quickly becoming a lot better known for their corruption, than the originality of their neoliberal economic plans.
Council splashes US$30k on Hre mayoress
TH/TZG
Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:06:00 +0000
HARARE City Council has splashed US$30 000 on a 4x4 Isuzu LX twin-cab for use by Mayoress Mrs Fikile Masunda, the Zimbabwe Guardian has learnt. The truck comes complete with a chauffer. Mrs Masunda becomes the
first mayoress in the history of the Harare City Council to have a vehicle dedicated for her use.
The vehicle was bought at the same time council splurged US$153 000 on a Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI and that the car was initially supposed to be used by one of the senior managers in the water and sanit department. It is not clear how it ended up being assigned to the mayoress.
In the past, mayoresses were either driven with their spouses when attending civic duties or an official vehicle would be assigned to pick them up and drop them off.
Dedicating a vehicle for Mrs Masunda also means she now enjoys the benefit of a chauffeur. City spokesman Leslie Gwindi yesterday confirmed the purchase of the vehicle.
"It has been seen fit that she should have a vehicle," he said.
Gwindi refused to discuss the issue further.
Further inquiries with chamber secretary Josephine Ncube by The Herald confirmed the purchase of the vehicle, but she denied that it was for Mrs Masunda’s sole use.
"She is not a full-time employee. The vehicle is not for the mayoress.It is part of the mayoral fleet.
"The vehicle can be used for official assignments by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Emmanuel Chiroto, or any councillor representing council at official functions or Mrs Masunda," she said.
Ncube said the purchase of the vehicle was extensively debated and an agreement was reached that it would be part of the mayoral fleet.
"If, for example, the Mayor of Bulawayo phones and says that he is coming to Harare, as part of our courtesy the vehicle will be sent to pick him up from the airport," she said.
The silver grey Isuzu is still to be registered. Councillors said the office of the mayor should have three vehicles, which it now has — an ML 320 CDI, Toyota Hilux single-cab and the double-cab Isuzu truck.
"It is there. I can confirm," said one councillor.
Senior council managers are not convinced that the vehicle was a wise buy taking into consideration that district officers who are supposed to travel the length and breadth of their wards monitoring service delivery do not have cars.
"This is very demoralising.
"We thought council had our interests at heart," said one manager. TH/TZG
Labels: MAYOR, MDC CORRUPTION
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MDC-T expels Chitungwiza mayor
HR/TZG reporters
Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:35:00 +0000
THE MDC-T leadership has resolved to expel Chitungwiza mayor, councillor Israel Marange after he was slapped with an effective one-year jail term for criminal abuse of office.
A Harare magistrate last month jailed Clr Marange for taking a US$1 000 bribe from a home seeker to facilitate the allocation of residential stands in the town.
Marange, who is challenging both the conviction and sentence, has since been granted US$3 000 bail by the High Court pending an appeal.
MDC-T is, however, yet to communicate the decision to Clr Marange, according to reliable sources.
The decision follows a meeting of the MDC-T national council and national executive recently.
Sources say the decision to fire Clr Marange followed pressure from the party structures in Chitungwiza on the leadership.
The party spokesperson Nelson Chamisa would neither confirm nor deny Clr Marange’s dismissal when contacted for comment yesterday.
“I am glad to say the matter has been dealt with by the leadership of the party.
“We are waiting for formal processes of the party to take shape in announcing the decision,” he said.
Various MDC-T members including members of parliament have been charged with various offences ranging from theft to common assault.
At least four MPs have been found guilty and jailed this year. - HR/TZG
Labels: ISRAEL MARANGE, MAYOR, MDC, MDC CORRUPTION
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Special Convention Fever Issue -- Chicago '68
Harold Washington - A Mainstream Radical Against The Machine
by Xolela Mangcu
(Swans - June 16, 2008) In order to fully grasp the historical significance of Chicago in 1968 we ought to understand exactly what the protesters were responding to and what it is that they also prefigured. Some years ago I came to the United States to study city planning at Cornell University.
I was rather intrigued by the changes that had propelled Harold Washington to become the first black mayor of Chicago in 1983. Washington was not only the first black mayor of Chicago but also the first truly progressive mayor of this notoriously racist and corrupt city.
Naturally, in writing about Washington I had to go deep into the political culture of the city and ultimately into the political culture of the United States. I argued that the evolution of the political machine in Chicago was a logical outcome of the politics of interest group pluralism that was consolidated in Chicago in the 1930s under the leadership of successive mayors. However, it was Richard J. Daley who extended the reach of the political machine to the black community. Daley built a black "sub-machine" with the help of William Dawson, a powerful black Democratic Congressman who held sway all over the South Side by providing jobs, contracts and governmental services for black immigrants fleeing oppression and poverty in the southern states in return for their political support for the Democratic Party. As a ward committeeman he approved city, county and federal appointments from his ward. A senior committeeman such as Dawson could dispense about 2,000 patronage jobs at any one time. However, by the early 1960s Daley had become increasingly uncomfortable with Dawson's power. He started making black appointments to city government without consulting Dawson. For example the mayor appointed Ralph Metcalfe -- a silver medalist on Jesse Owens's victorious team in the 1932 Olympics -- as ward committeeman and then as alderman of the Third Ward over Dawson's objections. This was part of Daley's strategy to create alternative sources of power that he could manipulate within the black community. When Dawson died in 1963, Daley anointed Ralph Metcalfe as his successor. Civic notables such as Metcalfe provided the mayor with the "credibility" he sought in the black community. In reality they were derisively described as "the silent six." But the machine also needed intellectual justification. Prominent American scholars such as Robert Merton, Edward Banfield and James Q. Wilson argued that the machine provided the mayor of any big city with an instrument for informal control without which it would be almost impossible to govern. This was an instrument for providing material incentives in return for votes. This is the political culture that prevailed in many American cities before the rebellions of the 1960s.
The urban movements that mobilized against the Daley machine in Chicago justified their actions in terms of political principles such as racial and economic equality. As early as 1963 there was open protest against Daley. For example, he was booed off the stage during the 1963 Chicago NAACP Convention. However, Chicago's racists would not take things lying down. When Martin Luther King brought the civil rights struggle to northern cities he encountered the greatest resistance and was even physically attacked in Chicago suburbs such as Cicero. The city saw social unrest after the death of Martin Luther King, and Daley gave the infamous order for police "to shoot to kill or maim." Police repression accompanied the Democratic Convention of 1968. The civil rights activist Fred Hampton was killed in a hail of bullets by the city's police in 1969. This was the violent context within which Harold Washington emerged a dozen years later. Did he make much difference to race relations in the city, and did he prefigure a different kind of political culture from the days of the machine?
As far back as the 1950s organizations such as the Chicago League of Negro Voters had rejected the hollowness of black representation by Daley's "Uncle Toms." They demanded that one of the top party spots in the city's local government should go to an African American of their choice. Thus they nominated Lemuel Bentley for city clerk in 1959. Although Bentley lost, he obtained about 50,000 votes. The League's Executive Director Albert Janney saw the campaign as marking the beginning of a new era and the end of "boss rule" in the city. As the rejection of the political system intensified, the machine became more and more vulnerable. Little could be done to stop these radical movements by offering material incentives. The machine was also challenged by a growing neighborhood development movement in the white communities. Many of these people came out of the 1960s movements and subsequent protests against the Vietnam war. Community groups targeted the mayor's downtown redevelopment efforts. A Coalition to Stop the Chicago 21 Plan was formed to fight the resulting gentrification and displacement. By the mid-1970s a large network and infrastructure of training institutes, research organizations and funders had been established to provide alternatives to machine policies (The Chicago Rehab Network, The Center for Neighborhood Technology, the Center for Urban Economic Development, the Chicago Association of Neighborhood Development Associations and the Community Workshop on Economic Development). These local movements fed off similar movements that had begun to take place in cities throughout the United States.
Like all aspirant politicians in Chicago, attorney Harold Washington had paid his dues in the Democratic Party through party precinct work. He had taken over as precinct captain after his father died. For a mayor like Daley, who was constantly looking to expand his control over black politics, Washington had the potential to be an effective ally. He was young, educated, intelligent, and had the right political upbringing. Daley then hired him as Assistant Corporation Counsel. But Washington turned out differently from what the mayor had expected. He proved to be much more independent in his politics and less tolerant of racism within city hall. Even as his political fortunes rose and he joined the state legislature, he did not always vote the party line. He even sponsored a bill in the state legislature to institute an independent police civil review board, much to the chagrin of Mayor Daley. He openly aligned himself with the Afro-American Patrolmen's League -- an organization that was filing federal discrimination suits against the mayor. His first direct challenge to the machine occurred in the 1977 mayoral election. He won in all of the black wards on the South Side. It was an important symbolic victory considering that this had historically been the black sub-machine's playground. But his campaign was not well organized and wealthy black individuals in the community were still not prepared to finance a black candidate. The failure of the 1977 campaign taught him a few lessons about campaigning, defining the issues, networking and fundraising. But Washington was also not the prototype anti-machine activist, and did not directly come out of the street protests. He worked from within the system -- by getting himself elected first to the state legislature and then the US Congress. According to Gary Rivlin, author of Fire on the Prairie, Washington was a "savvy parliamentarian" more interested in building coalitions around his political agenda. Still, black people, including black radicals, respected his independent record in the state and federal legislature. Washington ran again in 1979 and lost to Jane Byrne. [*] Byrne won that race with 63% of the black vote. Washington would later describe Byrne's victory as really the first breach of machine control of Chicago politics. But Mayor Byrne took a number of policy decisions that reduced black representation on important city institutions, including the Board of Education. This led ultimately to the mobilization of the black community under the leadership of the radical black nationalist talk-show host Lu Palmer. This changed the political dynamic drastically in Chicago. Palmer started calling for direct black representation through a black mayor -- consistent with the black nationalist theme of self-determination. He used his radio talk show to agitate for a black mayoral candidate in the 1983 elections. He would end his shows by saying "We shall see in '83." Palmer also convened a series of meetings with the city's black leaders to discuss the idea of a black mayor. The black nationalists were, however, not well suited for the general election. Washington knew he needed to build a multi-racial coalition. That was the movement that ultimately swept Washington into power, and subsequently provided the basis of his administration.
Washington's victory was viewed by political observers as "a great awakening." Chicago political writer Studs Terkel called Washington's victory an American "Soweto." Other writers conveyed a similar sense of awakening. Jesse Jackson viewed the campaign as "a political riot an unprecedented act of disciplined rage." Alkalimat and Gills described the whole thing as "a historic event of great significance. Black adults demonstrated that under specific conditions they will defy all expectations and mobilize at unprecedented levels." Manning Marable described Washington's election as "the most recent and most politically advanced expression of a very deep protest tradition which is part of Black Chicago's history." Chicago Sun-Times columnist Vernon Jarrett said the elections represented "a zenith in black aspirations." According to State Senator Alice Palmer, Washington was a catalyst that brought all the arms of the movement together: "Because progressive people from all walks of life had been looking for a home for a long time, Harold's campaign became that place." Clavel and Wiewel describe Washington's period of governance as "one of the high points in the history of American cities. His reforms marked the end of the notorious machine identified with Richard J. Daley."
Some analysts have questioned Washington's legacy by pointing to the return of the machine through Richard M. Daley. They place the blame on Washington's failure to build a more lasting progressive political base in Chicago. Manning Marable argued that "the lesson of Harold Washington is that black leadership in the civil rights and Black Power periods depended too heavily upon personalities. The charisma of Harold Washington was no substitute for an effective political organization." While this is certainly a valid observation, there are a whole number of legacies that can be seen to come from the Washington administration. There is now a growing recognition, especially in the wake of the Obama campaign, that charisma is not unimportant. Individuals are able to influence the nature and trajectory of politics in ways that movements sometimes cannot. The other lesson is that Harold Washington opened up spaces for individuals and communities who never would have had a chance to participate in government under the political machine. Some of these people are now operating and applying that experience in different areas of American local and national life. Some cities as far as Italy modeled themselves on the Washington administration. In some Latin American cities Washington was treated like a visiting head of state. The cultural meaning of the Washington administration lay in the legitimization of the rights of African Americans, women and other minorities to be full participants in their own governance. But Washington also represented something that has often eluded progressive leaders: He was a product of the movements of the 1960s who remained true to the spirit of that era while also prefiguring a progressive government for the city.
As a South African I saw many parallels between what was happening in Chicago and what we had experienced under apartheid. That racist government had employed somewhat similar strategies -- albeit on a much grander and brutal scale. For example, it established the homeland system and all manner of local authority structures as a means of controlling the black population. As in Chicago the responses in the black community ranged from "Uncle Toms" to moderate leaders and ultimately to radical liberation movements. However, what I did not anticipate in my study of Chicago was that instead of following Harold Washington's model of urban leadership and reform, the African National Congress (ANC) government followed the model of the political machine perfected by Richard J. Daley. No sooner had Thabo Mbeki and his peers assumed the levers of power than they began to remodel the ANC as a political machine. The slogan "you gotta go along to get along" took on a frighteningly urgent momentum as former liberation fighters plundered the nation's resources. The most dramatic example was the so-called arms deal, which ultimately saw the former deputy president of the country and now president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, being indicted on corruption charges. Zuma's court appearance is in August 2008, but the matter is unlikely to be resolved any time before the general elections scheduled to be held next year. The new ANC leadership has, however, insisted that Zuma will lead them into the elections. While the ANC leadership is determined to have Zuma lead it in the general elections, it remains unclear how the rest of the country will respond. It may well be that there will be a decline in voter turnout, and ultimately a weakening of the ANC. As South Africans we are therefore still very far from the leadership represented by Harold Washington. On the contrary the United States holds the prospect of continuing the tradition set in motion by Harold Washington. The presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States, Barack Obama, who lived not far from Harold Washington in Chicago, has in many ways modeled his campaign on Harold Washington, trying to walk the tightrope of race in America. His strategy can perhaps be described as divide-and-rule in reverse. But it's a divide-and-rule with potentially healing implications for the United States. Given the history of racism and inequality in American cities Obama reminds us of Washington's idealism. However, should he become US president Obama will not escape a question that was often asked in the wake of the Harold Washington administration in Chicago -- to what extent did he translate his electoral mandate to make significant improvements in the lives of ordinary Americans?
[ed. This article was set to be published on June 2, 2008, in our Special Convention Fever Issue -- Chicago '68, but we received it after that issue had been published.]
Correction: Harold Washington did not run against Jane Byrne in 1979. He was not on the ballot. He ran in a "special" election in 1977 and then in 1983 when he was finally elected. [ed. added on June 17, 2008.] (back)
Labels: HAROLD WASHINGTON, MAYOR
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Minister bungles Harare water deal
TZG/TH reporters
Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:54:00 +0000
A CABINET minister from the MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is at the centre of bureaucratic bungling and flouting of laid-down tender procedures that has caused delays in fixing Harare’s water and sewer situation, according to reports from Harare.
The Wednesday edition of the Herald newspaper claims that Water Resources Development and Management Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo
"entered into an agreement worth over US$20 million for the rehabilitation of Harare’s water and sewer systems with a South African company, Engineering and Electrical Supplies, without going to tender as required, and the deal has since collapsed."
Minister Nkomo is said to have confirmed the deal was practically "dead in the water" after Cabinet rejected it because he had not followed proper procedures.
"It was supposed to go through tender, but it did not. The deal was signed, but we later decided that it should now be done by the City of Harare," reported the daily.
"Engineering and Electrical Supplies are now out of the question.
"We have agreed to let tendering and all other things go through. We had not done any tendering when we struck the deal. We thought it was going to be alright,’’ admitted Minister Nkomo to Cabinet.
Despite this admission, Nkomo is said to have blamed the collapse of the deal on the politics plaguing Harare Water.
"Some of these things get politicised. Harare is not an easy place," Minister Nkomo was reported as saying.
Minister Nkomo is reported as having told the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development that the South African company was going to rehabilitate the water and sewer system at no cost to Government and the City of Harare.
"Yet, according to the Memorandum of Understanding, Engineering and Electrical Supplies would provide 'a 90-day credit facility' for the acquisition of material for the rehabilitation of the water and sewerage system.
"The MoU states that Minister Nkomo’s ministry would ensure payment to Engineering and Electrical Supplies after the 90-day period and either party could terminate the agreement upon six months’ written notification to the other party.
"Unless otherwise specifically agreed by the parties, termination shall not affect the validity of any ongoing activities not fully completed at the time of termination," reads the MoU.
In a letter to Minister Chombo on May 21, Minister Nkomo said the deal would cost neither Government nor the City of Harare a cent.
"So far, they are the only contractor who have agreed to finance their intervention upfront.
"In order to tie the two parties down, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 8th of May 2009 and a work programme for Harare Water and Sewer developed immediately thereafter with the involvement of city council engineers and Zinwa.
"However, as you know, as Government, we currently have no money. So this initiative shall be implemented through donations," Minister Nkomo wrote.
Minister Chombo later responded expressing his appreciation that his counterpart had struck a deal at no cost to Government and council.
He, however, demanded details of the donor, scope of donation, circumstances surrounding the donation and the contractor and rationale "for selection thereof".
"It pleases me, Honourable Minister, to note that your ministry has mobilised the following resources: rehabilitation of water supplies — US$7,780 million and rehabilitation of sewerage works US$13,160 million in favour of the City of Harare," wrote Minister Ignatius Chombo on May 19.
He added: "I am even more delighted to learn that the funds have been sourced at no cost to council nor to the Government of Zimbabwe."
Minister Chombo assured Minister Nkomo that the City of Harare "will without prevarication co-operate in this matter".
However, Minister Nkomo later wrote to Finance Minister Tendai Biti seeking funding for the same deal.
"Following my recent working visit to the Republic of South Africa, I am glad to inform you that my ministry has already signed an MoU with Engineering and Electrical Supplies.
"This is a South African company willing to advance us a soft loan on a 40-day cycle in order to attend to the water sector.
"This will be their contribution to the cholera control efforts. As we pay them, the company is willing to plough back that money so that more is done in the water sector starting with some parts of Harare . . . They will start with a sum of four million rand.
"The loan component is a responsibility of your ministry. Ministry of Water, through Zinwa and the local authorities, will supervise the physical implementation of the programme," he said.
Minister Nkomo told Minister Biti that the company followed the fix-and-supply approach by assessing the scope of works, procuring the required material and then using its own company or sub-contractor to do "the job under our supervision".
He said the company wanted to minimise delays and his ministry agreed with the approach "because of the need to move fast".
Minister Nkomo indicated that work on the Harare water and sewer infrastructure had already started, yet high frequency sewer blockages, leakages, overloaded sewers and shortage of running water continue to expose Harare residents to health risks.
CLASH WITH MAYOR
Meanwhile, Minister Nkomo has recently clashed with the Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda.
He has declared ironically that: “I am the authority on water. It does not matter who delivers it.” The minister was contending that residents do not have to pay the bills they have been saddled with by the Harare municipality.
Nkomo's comments prompted one commentator to write:
"Does that mean he can go to the shores of Lake Chivero and command the waters to rise, purify themselves and flow by themselves to the taps of Harare? If he can’t do that then what are the practical considerations he has made to ensure water supply for Harare.
"The water has to be purified at a cost, stored at a cost and pumped to the consumers at a cost. The mere fact that Nkomo has authority does not meet costs. Therefore his declaration that he is the authority is not relevant to the practical considerations of purifying and pumping Harare’s water."
Labels: HARARE, MAYOR, MDC, MUCHADEYI MASUNDA, SAMUEL SIPEPA NKOMO
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Rupiah angers C/belt PF mayors
Written by Mutuna Chanda and Zumani Katasefa in Ndola
Monday, July 06, 2009 11:55:28 AM
ALMOST all Copperbelt PF mayors on Saturday boycotted the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the ultra modern stadium in Ndola following President Rupiah Banda’s attacks on PF leader Michael Sata on his arrival at the Ndola International Airport. And President Banda has urged MMD cadres to make sure that the opposition never rules Zambia.
Meanwhile, Copperbelt MMD chairman Joseph Chilambwe ordered civil servants to lift the MMD symbol when singing the national anthem at the airport after President Banda addressed cadres upon arrival.
In an interview yesterday, Chingola mayor Simon Chanda, in the company of other PF mayors, said the civic leaders could not stand President Banda’s encouragement of insults against Sata. Chanda said this in reference to President Banda’s reaction to a song which MMD women were singing at the airport that Sata would never rule Zambia.
While the women sang, President Banda mumbled along.
“Chipongwe chi Sata iyaya tawatekepo icalo twakana iyaya (Talkative Sata, you’ll never rule the country; we have refused),” the women sang as President Banda remarked: “Ah! That’s my song.”
Chanda said the PF mayors were upset that President Banda encouraged insults against their leader.
“We were very disappointed yesterday when we came to the airport to welcome the President that he was encouraging insults against our president,” Chanda said.
“…In our coming to welcome him, we are just following the law but if he continues insulting our president, we’ll be boycotting.”
He said the PF mayors almost boycotted welcoming Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete but changed their minds.
“And for the President to say that ‘I like that song’, we were upset and decided not to even go to the groundbreaking ceremony,” said Chanda.
And Chililabombwe mayor Ben Mpande said President Banda should differentiate between state functions and those of the party.
“If it’s an MMD function, they can say whatever they like,” said Mpande.
And addressing MMD cadres on arrival, President Banda, in reference to PF and UPND pact, said the opposition would never rule the country whether individually or collectively.
“Make sure they never rule the country,” President Banda said. “Our party, as long as we are there, they will never rule … because we are together. That’s why they are looking for little cracks that ‘they are fighting in MMD’, we never talk about them.”
President Banda also said he had heard that some opposition leaders were demanding the truth over what he was suffering from when he underwent knee surgery in South Africa.
“I am going to tell the truth; I am not suffering from what they are suffering from,” President Banda said.
And after President Banda addressed the cadres, Chilambwe asked them to lift the MMD symbol when singing the national anthem including civil servants whom he said were appointed by President Banda.
And President Banda said the MMD would continue to be in power until 2011.
During the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the commencement of the construction of the ultra modern stadium in Ndola on Saturday, President Banda said MMD’s political opponents were hoping that the party would crumble, but that would not happen.
“…We are determined, it is us who are running this country. We are going to rule until 2011…We will fight for our independence,” he said.
President Banda said the MMD was a democratic party, adding that some opposition political parties had mistaken this to confusion.
President Banda said he was a true party cadre who knew what he was doing in politics.
“That is true, I am a cadre. I became a cadre at 17, I see young politicians they think they can play politics. I may be quiet but at the end of the day, I know what to do,” he said after MMD cadres praised him through a song that he was a real party cadre.
He also said health workers who went on strike would not be paid for the days that they downed tools so as to discourage more strikes in the country.
President Banda said the government would not dismiss the workers who went on strike but would allow them to go back for work.
He said health workers who would fail to go back to work should consider themselves dismissed.
Labels: MAYOR, PF, RUPIAH BANDA
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PF threatens to expel Msiska
Written by Katwishi Bwalya, Mwala Kalaluka, Diniwe Mumba and Agness Changala
Friday, May 01, 2009 2:39:23 PM
PATRIOTIC Front vice-president Guy Scott has warned that the party will expel its councillor, Charles Msiska, for defying the party’s directive not to challenge Robert Chikwelete for the position of mayor for the City of Lusaka. And Chikwelete narrowly beat ‘rebel’ councillor Msiska by one vote to become the new Lusaka mayor.
But local government minister Ben Tetamashimba has postponed the installation of the new mayor for Lusaka to May 29, 2009.
Meanwhile, MMD Chasunsu ward councillor Dominic Katwishi on Tuesday went through unopposed as new Mansa mayor.
In an interview after Chikwelete was declared winner of the mayoral elections, Dr Scott said when the matter of the defiant councillors is tabled before the party, Msiska and new Lusaka deputy mayor, Davison Mulenga, who is Chawama ward two PF councillor, would be expelled.
“I am just predicting because I m not the disciplinary officer for PF but I am giving you a prediction that when this matter comes before the attention of the party, they will be expelled,” he said.
Dr Scott said attempts by the ruling MMD to take over the control of the Lusaka City Council by sponsoring Msiska were all in vain.
Chikwelete polled 19 votes against Msiska’s 18.
And Msiska has called for calm among the PF leadership, saying expelling him was not necessary at the moment.
“I gave him [Chikwelete] a good run so I am very happy and I am not a bitter person and I must not be misunderstood that this is insubordination or that I am being defiant but it is a matter of trying to set the records right and perfect,” said Msiska.
And councillors took town clerk Timothy Hakuyu to task to explain why Tetamashimba had postponed the installations of the new mayor which was to take place on Wednesday.
This was after Hakuyu had informed the councillors that the installation ceremony would only take place on May 29, 2009.
“The minister would be in a position to explain,” said Hakuyu as councillors shouted “Teta ayambako”.
And Mansa town clerk Bwaanga Kapumpa said in an interview that Katwishi went through unopposed at the elections that took place at Mansa Council.
Katwishi said his election as Mansa mayor was exciting.
"Winning is all the time exciting," he said.
Katwishi said he wanted to use his position to provide better services to the people of Mansa.
But PF Bahati Constituency secretary Jewis Chabi said councillors from the opposition party walked out of the conference room where the elections for the new Mansa mayor were being held because they were outnumbered.
Chabi said the election of Katwishi was undemocratic.
He also complained that the PF was placed at a disadvantage because four out of its eight councilors could not take part in the electoral process due to a myriad of circumstances.
Chabi explained that one PF councilor died in December last year while the other one was jailed in the same period but that no by-elections had been conducted in the two wards since then.
And Mongu Municipal Council acting town clerk Frank Kalenga was forced to apologise to a sizeable crowd that went to witness the installation of new Mongu mayor Shalala Simushi and his deputy Pereira Francisco after the event was postponed.
Kalenga said the installation of the mayor and his deputy could not take place because President Banda had not cleared the guest of hounour, local government and housing deputy minister, John Chinyanta.
And during the installation of new Choma mayor, Tennyson Hajongola and his deputy Simon Mpasela, defence deputy minister Eustackio Kazonga called on the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to appoint auditors to scrutinise the utilisation of funds in councils on an annual basis.
Kazonga noted with sadness that some audit reports in some councils were quite bad.
Labels: BENNY TETAMASHIMBA, CHARLES MSISKA, GUY SCOTT, MAYOR, PF
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Chililabombwe PF councillors elect Mpande as new mayor
Chililabombwe PF councillors elect Mpande as new mayor
Written by Mutuna Chanda in Chililabombwe
Friday, January 02, 2009 2:53:33 PM
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) councillors in Chililabombwe on Wednesday elected Ben Mpande as the town's new mayor, further defying local government minister Ben Tentamashimba's directive that mayoral elections be postponed.
Chililabombwe is among several towns on the Copperbelt Province that held mayoral elections which Tetamashimba and some town clerks have described as illegal, saying they would not be recognised.
The PF councillors in Chililabombwe also elected Lydia Chunda as deputy mayor.
Mpande of Nakatindi ward and Chunda of Hellen Kaunda ward went through unopposed replacing their fellow PF councillors for Mumba ward Wilson Ponga who was mayor and his deputy Jean Namukonda for Kakoso ward.
However, Chililabombwe town clerk, local authority officials, eight MMD councillors and one from United Democratic Alliance were absent from the election which was chaired by PF Chililabombwe member of parliament Esther Banda.
Both Ponga and Namukonda were also not present during the election.
Only the 12 PF councillors were present for the election.
In opening the no contest poll, Banda said councillors would not accept any council meeting that would be chaired by outgoing mayor Ponga because time had come for him to go.
She said there was nothing that could stand in the way of the elections because Chililabombwe Municipal Council had already come up with its budget.
“The announcement to postpone the elections was that until councils do their budgets but our budget was done a long time ago so we feel there shouldn't be delays in holding elections anymore,” Banda said.
She said PF councillors would not tolerate any council meeting that was not going to recognise the newly-elected mayor and deputy.
“For example in Chingola yesterday, (Tuesday) where a new mayor has been elected, people walked out because the new mayor did not take up his position,” Banda said. “This shouldn't be taken lightly. We don't want to see the old mayor chairing meetings. If they want to have meetings, they should bring a neutral person otherwise we will all walk out.”
Banda also said that the acting town clerk for Chililabombwe Godwin Chinoya had written to her informing her that neither him nor any council official would be present during the planned mayoral elections.
And in an interview, Banda expressed disappointment at Chinoya's conduct.
Chinoya in a letter dated December 30, 2008 told Banda that holding of the mayoral elections in view of the suspension was illegal.
“It has come to my attention that you are planning to hold mayoral elections by the Patriotic Front (PF) councillors tomorrow, Wednesday 31st December, 2008 in the council chamber,” Chinoya stated. “As a principal advisor to the council, I wish to advise you and your team not to go ahead with these elections. The following are the reasons why you should not go ahead with these elections:
Both the standing orders and the local government Act Cap 281 of the Laws of Zambia are very clear on the steps to follow when electing a mayor and deputy mayor. Among other requirements is: the notice of meeting to be circulated by the principal officer; the nomination period; the quorum; the returning officer who should be the principal officer. If these are not met, the election is null and void.”
Chinoya stated that mayors and their deputies who had been voted for in other towns without following procedure were non-functional.
“Information reaching my office is that you already had intra-party elections where you elected those to stand on the PF ticket for the post of mayor and deputy mayor.
Why repeat the same function in the Chamber simply for political expedience?” stated Chinoya. “Most importantly, the party Patriotic Front has taken the government to court over the same mayoral elections. This means that it will be contempt of court on our part if you went ahead and held mayoral elections.”
Chinoya's letter was copied to local government minister Benny Tetamashimba, Provincial local government officer Solomon Sakala, the permanent secretary at local government ministry, and the mayor of Chililabombwe.
Tetamashimba last month issued a directive that mayoral elections be postponed until councils countrywide presented their budgets. However, the directive was defied as several councils on the Copperbelt elected mayors and their deputies.
Their decision was further augmented by Patriotic Front president Michael Sata's directive that all councils should hold mayoral elections, saying Tetamashimba's order was illegal.
Labels: BEN MPANDE, COPPERBELT PROVINCE, LYDIA CHUNDA, MAYOR
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‘PF will not be blackmailed’
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Sunday, December 28, 2008 12:27:29 PM
PATRIOTIC Front vice president Dr Guy Scott yesterday said the party will not be blackmailed into postponing mayoral elections.
And local government and housing permanent secretary Joe Ngo has written to all councils in the country to submit their annual budget estimates to the respective provincial local government officers by this Wednesday.
Reacting the Ngo's directive, Dr Scott said Ngo had attributed the postponement to the non-submission of budgets, but the law clearly stated that elections shall be conducted at the first ordinary meeting of the council on September in that year.
"He is saying that the delay in election is because the budgets have not been submitted. There is no reason to delay because the budget and elections can be done on the same day. It is nonsense and he is just trying to cover up for (local government minister) Tetamashimba's inexperience in that field," he said.
Dr Scott said the party had since told the councillors not to attend any meetings that would be chaired by the old mayors.
"This is an attempt to blackmail us and we wont accept. We are ashamed with what is happening now with the heavy rains. The whole dry season nothing was happening and now they are saying it is a disaster; who made this disaster? We will not be blackmailed. We have sent a letter to all councils and the PS that it is illegal and can he explain how it is possible to evade the law because that is what the law says," he said.
He wondered if this was being done to reward some of the 'rebel' members of parliament who had campaigned for them.
Dr Scott also wondered how it was possible to prepare the budgets without mayors and the chairmen.
And in a letter dated December 23, 2008 to all town clerks, council secretaries, city, municipal and district councils, Ngo stated that Tetamashimba was on record as having postponed elections purely to enable the preparation and submissions of annual budget estimates which were inadvertently delayed following events that had occurred from the passing away of president Levy Mwanawasa.
"Please note that accordingly that these elections have not been cancelled at all but have merely been postponed and that undue anxieties are uncalled for. Further to what I have stated above, you are now therefore and in accordance with the minister's televised interview on National Watch directed to submit your annual budget estimates to your respective provincial local government officers latest Wednesday December 31, 2008," he stated.
"Please note that any council failing to comply with this directive will not have their annual budget estimates approved and will not receive any form of grants from central government for the ensuing financial year 2009."
But in a letter to Ngo dated December 26, 2008, Dr Scott stated that the Ngo should clarify how councillors could legally proceed to consider annual budgets estimates before they elect the mayors and council chairmen in view if Section 16 (2) of the local government Act which states that; 'The mayor, deputy mayor, chairman or vice chairman of a council shall be elected at the first ordinary meeting of council held after September 1 in that year.
Labels: GOVERNANCE, GUY SCOTT, JOE NGO, MAYOR, PF
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