High time voters think through choices

OUR town and cities are clearly not what they used to be, as service delivery has all, but collapsed. Our roads have become horribly potholed and street lighting no longer exists.

The water that is delivered in people’s homes, if it is available at all, is no longer potable, and communities have had to rely on boreholes drilled by well-wishers and non-governmental organisations.

Council clinics that are supposed to be at the coalface of providing primary healthcare to residents are barely functional, and patients are now routinely referred to central hospitals administered by the Government.

Enforcement of by-laws in most, if not all, urban precincts no longer exists as municipal police have become extinct.

This in itself explains the chaos and disorder currently plaguing our capital.

Walking through the pavements of our cities, where hawkers and vendors have a field day, the failures become evident.

But the level of ineptitude cannot be so worse that councils can even fail to generate, send bills and collect revenue from ratepayers, yet this is happening.

Perhaps what is most emblematic of the rot and decay affecting most local authorities is the filth that we literally see everywhere.

But we all know the problem, don’t we?

Successive mayors, particularly of Harare City Council, have been kind and brutally honest enough to give us a clue.

In 2015, former mayor Bernard Manyenyeni, who was elected on the MDC-T ticket, fell short of calling his then-fellow councillors functionally illiterate.

“In 1927, Harare had two lawyers in council; nearly 90 years later, the entire country has only one lawyer out of the over 2 000 councillors,” he told reporters at a media cocktail then.

“I would favour the inclusion on a non-partisan basis of individuals with minimum key skills that are critical to our tour of duty.

“Specifically, no less than one-third of the City Fathers must be able to present strong credentials in business, academia, engineering, law, finance and health, among others.

“When this is not achievable or achieved through the electoral process, modalities for accommodating specially skilled councillors must be found.”

Viewed differently, Manyenyeni’s intervention was a desperate plea to voters to rise above politicking and make decisions that work for the city.

Is it not the goal of politics to improve the human condition and change things for better?

But on March 26, voters will have yet another opportunity to get things right.

It has to be remembered that the imminent elections themselves have been triggered by the chaos within the opposition, which essentially is symbolic of the wider challenges affecting our towns and cities.

And the choices for the electorate are very clear: Vote for the status quo, which means the obtaining challenges will continue to fester, or vote change.

Well, in a situation where Local Government has collapsed, change — any change — is welcome.

The current situation, where the Government, under the stewardship of a proactive administration, has been left with no option, but to step in to rescue ratepayers is not sustainable in the long term.

Some of the roads in urban areas have since been taken over and are presently receiving due attention.

The process of taking over council clinics and putting nurses on the Government’s payroll is ongoing.

Being able to do this and be also able to deal with the humongous responsibility that comes with Central Government shows that the Second Republic is running a tight ship.

It also means a viable alternative to replace the current crop of useless councillors can be found. Ultimately, this is up to the voter. We all share the same aspiration of walking in a modernised First Street Mall and drive on world-class roads that are both well-marked and well-lit.

We also hope to drink tap water and have our garbage routinely collected as it used to be back in the day.

We also need to see a well-resourced municipal police back on our streets to restore order and a modicum of discipline in the city.

Environmental health technicians have to be brought back to safeguard the health and hygiene of communities. Suffice to say, this will also create jobs and help realise the Zimbabwe that we all want.

We can no longer continue to postpone our date with destiny.

The time is now!

As they say, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.

So it is high time we think through our choices and avoid being parochial.

It has never worked in the past 21 years, it will not work now, and it will never work in future.

Wise up!