Rusape eyes municipal status
RUSAPE Town Council is pulling out all the stops to ensure that it is upgraded to a municipality by 2020.
In an interview on the sidelines of a Strategic Plan Review workshop held in Nyanga last week, Rusape town secretary Mr Solomon Gabaza said council was determined to meet all the basic requirements critical for attaining municipal status.
“We have achieved most things expected from us to achieve municipal status. We strongly believe that we are on course to achieve that status. Our population has gradually increased over the years and is now estimated to be around 35 000 residents,” said Mr Gabaza.
“We are currently revamping all sporting facilities such as allweather courts, stadium, a stateof-the-art swimming pool is now complete and we aim to complete the resuscitation of Makoni Country Club by early 2020. The golf course requires major rehabilitation since it has been derelict for nearly a decade. A golf course is also a requirement for us to achieve municipal status.
“We are most likely to apply to our parent ministry for the status at the end of 2019 because we would have managed to polish up areas that are still lagging behind.”
Rusape, which attained town status in 1992 and has 10 political wards, is believed to be one of the fastest growing urban local authorities in the country.
It currently is the second-largest urban settlement in Manicaland province after Mutare City Council.
Mr Gabaza said the town is presently prioritising major works such as water and sewer reticulation, roads, public lighting, waste management and education, among others.
“We are reviewing our 20162020 strategic plan to see where we have achieved something and where we can improve. We are mainly focusing on major works that have a direct impact on the service we offer to our residents. We have prioritised provision of water and sewer services in Magamba Extension and other new settlements,” he said.
Manicaland provincial administrator Mr Edgars Seenza, who was represented by Makoni assistant district administrator Mr Darlington Museka, said if Rusape maintained its current performance, it will not have challenges achieving municipal status.
“They are not being over ambitious to say they now qualify to be a municipality. In terms of service delivery, they are doing well. Their strategic document is more realistic and achievable. They are working with every stakeholder well and this helps them in coming up with the correct decisions,” said Mr Seenza.
Rusape Residents Trust chairperson Mr Martin Chaburumunda said council had set a good precedent by inviting their input into theh crafting of its plans, adding that this would help mend bridges between council and residents.
“It is very rare for councils to invite residents when they make key decisions, but this strategic document has our input. As residents, we made sure that our interests and expectations were factored in. Our next task now is to make sure that we make constant follow-ups to see if what we agreed on is being implemented,” he said.