Harare City Council councillors failed to elect a new mayor for the city on Tuesday after a scheduled full council meeting was aborted at the eleventh hour.
Some MDC Alliance councillors boycotted the meeting, with some reports claiming that there was a plan to elevate acting mayor Stewart Mutizwa to fill the vacant post before the swearing-in of 28 CCC councillors on Thursday.
Chamber secretary Warren Chiwawa said that only 12 councillors attended, therefore, the meeting was postponed to Wednesday or Thursday.
Meanwhile, ZANU PF councillor for Mbare Ward 4 Martin Matinyanya criticised the absentee councillors for allegedly not taking council business seriously. He said:
This is the third time a meeting has been aborted because people are not sitting in for the meetings.
These same people are Nelson Chamisa’s puppets and do not consider poor services residents are receiving.
Harare service delivery is at a standstill, we need to improve yet other councillors are boycotting such important meetings.
These same councillors who are absent today are never late or absent from a workshop because they are very good at collecting per-diems.
The City of Harare will elect a new mayor to replace Jacob Mafume who was recalled by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Mafume was elected Harare mayor after Herbert Gomba was recalled by the MDC Alliance.