Former Minister of Mines, Obert Mpofu has said Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, has been turned into a growth point by sitting councillors who are predominantly from the opposition.
His remarks did not sit well with Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni who accused the ZANU PF government of contributing to the collapse of the former industrial hub of Zimbabwe.
Speaking while presiding over a full council meeting Wednesday, Mguni said:
We are meeting today when the city is under immense pressure, assault and insults from our political detractors,” Mguni said in his first full council meeting.
They have taken every opportunity to twist facts and doctored them to their political advantage.
One senior Matabeleland North provincial member is being quoted in the state media describing Bulawayo as having turned into a growth point.
This house must agree with this senior politician that the collapse of the city`s road network in 2021-2022 is attributed to the failure of the central government`s Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP).
As the adage goes, statistics don’t lie. 2021-22 saw the erratic or non-disbursement of allocated ZINARA funds, some which were diverted towards the government`s ERRP.
This saw 18 Bulawayo roads taken over by the Department of State Roads, CMED and various associated contractors under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.
Out of the 18 roads, only three of them were completed while twelve of the said roads are at zero per cent.
Mguni urged councillors to speak with one voice in urging the central government to disband the ERRP “which has had a deleterious effect on the city maintenance road efforts.”