The Insider - MDC says take-over of water supplies in Bulawayo is a travesty

The Insider
News about Zimbabwe that matters

The Insider - October 2007

MDC says take-over of water supplies in Bulawayo is a travesty

The Movement for Democratic Change’s Mutambara faction, which controls the Bulawayo City Council, has described the government take-over of the city’s water and sewerage reticulation as a travesty.

The council gave in to government pressure to surrender its water and sewerage reticulation system at the beginning of this month after a directive from Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo.

It had resisted the take-over all along and received the support of residents including leaders of the ruling ZANU-PF and had appealed to Chombo to ask cabinet to reverse the decision to take-over.

“As a party, we condemn the ZINWA (Zimbabwe National Water Authority) take-over and continue to support both the Bulawayo City Council’s stated position and the stand taken by the people of Bulawayo who elected the current MDC council,” party vice President Gibson Sibanda said in a statement.

Some councillors are reported to have threatened to impeach the mayor, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, for handing over the water supplies against both a council resolution and the wishes of the people. The council had clearly stated that it would not hand over its water supplies to the government. If ZINWA wanted to take over by force then it was free to do so.

Sibanda, however, said the party was quite aware that the council had been forced to comply with a directive from Chombo.

“The people have said it clearly and strongly and also in support of their elected council, that they do not want ZINWA to take over those services (but) the government (has gone) against the wishes and will of the people,” the statement said.

“ZINWA’s track record is one of failure to deliver clean, reliable and consistent water to residents of all the local authorities where it has commandeered these water services. Taking over reticulation from such an efficiently run council like that of Bulawayo is a travesty.”

Ndabeni-Ncube said the take-over was political and would probably be an election issue in the coming presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.

He said he and the council had not handed over the services to the government because they had clearly stated their position that they wanted to continue to run the services and had appealed to Chombo to get the government to reverse its decision to take over water supplies.

Ndabeni-Ncube said the state controlled media had deliberately misquoted his letter to Chombo, which was copied to Bulawayo provincial governor and resident Minister Cain Mathema.

He said that he had clearly stated in his letter that having noted Chombo’s directive he had written: “Then, ZINWA can take over, but suffice it to say our standpoint and the views of all people in Bulawayo are known.”

The mayor said contrary to reports that he had said the council would work closely with ZINWA, the council had in fact declined to second any of its officials into the committees that had been set up by the government.

The mayor had clearly stated in his letter that his administration would only engage the ZINWA people if five conditions were met.

A proper and careful approach had to be followed and the necessary legal issues reviewed and provided for accordingly.
Staff matters had to be resolved before the formal take over.
Compensation for infrastructure and revenue loss had to be agreed upon from the onset and rent had to be payable where applicable.
There had to be a provision that ZINWA would take over any obligations and liabilities;
and organisational arrangements had to be put in place before the ZINWA take over.

One observer, however, insisted that the mayor had sold out. He should have stuck to the council resolution and let ZINWA “grab” the water supplies.

“I have seen the letter that the mayor wrote to Chombo,” the observer said. “He is very diplomatic. But reading in between the lines he handed over the water supplies but still wants to look good with his councillors.”

Posted- 16 October 2007

Breaking News