Residents warn aspiring councillors

RESIDENTS from various urban councils in the Midlands have vowed to vote into office councillors who will help improve service delivery.

Urban councils in the country have been dominated by opposition MDC-T councillors, with residents complaining of deteriorating standards and poor service delivery.

In separate interviews this week, the residents said they would vote and make sure that people elected into office represented their will.

Kwekwe Residents Association chair Mr Alex Homela said the current crop of councillors had failed the residents.

“We have a myriad of challenges as Kwekwe residents that have been recurring for years especially issues to do with clean water,” he said.

“It now appears as normal for a suburb to go for weeks or months without water and I think this time around as residents, we should vote wisely and make sure we vote into office councillors who know their mandate.”

Mr Homela accused some councillors, especially from the opposition MDC-T running for a third successive term with nothing to show in terms of development.

“Some councillors have been in that position for the last two terms and they are running for the same position this time around,” he said.

“My question is, are they doing this for the residents or it’s just for selfish interest because if you check their records, they have contributed nothing in terms of improving service delivery in the area?”

Gokwe Residents Association chairman, Mr Tranos Tazviwana, said MDC-T councillors failed residents for the years they had been in office.

“All our urban councils are being dominated by MDC-T councillors, but what we have witnessed for all these years is total failure in as far as service delivery is concerned,” he said.

“What it means is that they have no people at heart and what we need to do as residents in response is to vote them out.”

Mr Tazviwana said there are some areas in Gokwe’s Mapfungautsi extension, which have gone for five years without water, a development that he said was a sign of failure from the MDC-T run councils.

“How can a suburb go for such a long time without water when he have councillors who sit in council meetings to deliberate on the welfare of the residents?” he asked.

“What it means is that they don’t know their duties as councillors and we will vote wisely this time around.”