Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Invites Himself To Attend International Meeting
Bulawayo City Council’s deputy mayor, Councillor Mlandu Ncube, has invited himself to join the council’s delegation to the 42nd Annual General Meeting and Symposium of Shelter Afrique in Abuja, Nigeria.
The meeting, which takes place from May 7 to 12, will focus on the development of urban infrastructure and housing in African developing countries.
The council received an invitation from the Secretary for National Housing and Social Amenities to send representatives to the symposium, which presents an opportunity to build strategic partnerships with potential investors for the council’s housing initiatives and development projects. Reads part of the report:
I nominate the Chamber Secretary (Mrs Sikhangele Zhou) and the Assistant Director of Housing and Community Services (Mr Zenzo Sibanda) to represent the Council.
Council would be expected to pay for their travel and subsistence allowances in the usual manner.
However, during the discussion on the Abuja symposium, Councillor Rodney Jele suggested that the Deputy Mayor should be part of the delegation and in turn, Councillor Ncube also expressed interest to attend. Reads part of the report:
The Deputy Mayor expressed his interest in attending as suggested. The Town Clerk however indicated that invitation had been extended to his office and that of the Director of Housing and Community Services, hence in their absence, their deputies had been nominated. There had been no invitation for Policymakers/ Councillors.
The decision was made to allow the Chamber Secretary and Assistant Director of Housing and Community Services to attend the Symposium. However, Councillor Ncube Council said:
With the concurrence of the organisers the Deputy Mayor, Councilor Mlandu Ncube be granted authority to attend and Council pays for his travel and subsistence costs in the usual manner.
Zimbabwe hosted the 41st Annual General Meeting of Shelter Afrique in Victoria Falls in July of last year, and the council sent delegates. As a shareholder of Shelter Afrique, a pan-African banking institution that supports affordable housing and real estate sector growth in Africa, the country has access to its resources. Shelter Afrique is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and has 45 member countries, along with institutional investors such as the Africa Development Bank, Africa Reinsurance Company, and the African Solidarity Fund.
