Mphoko angers Bulawayo councilors

Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko has angered Bulawayo City Council  by bulldozing into the city affairs after he spearheaded the rehabilitation of roads in Cowdray Park without the consent of the local authority.

Mphoko has been leading the rehabilitation of the roads in the suburb ahead of the Luveve parliamentary by-election on June 10 where his Zanu-PF party is seeking to win the seat for the first time in 15 years.

The opposition MDC-T councillors are not pleased with the vice presidents approach as they feel that  Mphoko was only rehabilitating the roads to campaign for Zanu-PF candidates contesting the five high-stake by-elections in Bulawayo.

Councillor Rodney Jele said it was disturbing that the graders used in the exercise had Zanu-PF posters.

"Was the council aware of such activities? There was need for council to approach the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing for clarification in order to avoid misunderstanding," the report added.

Councillor Silas Chigora said Mphoko's initiative in Cowdray Park was politically motivated.

"Donors should conduct themselves in a professional manner and get professional assistance from council engineers.
"The problem on the ground now is that council infrastructure could be damaged by the contractor as there is no council supervision on current projects" said Chigora.

Chairperson of the committee councillor Norman Hlabani said council was not properly informed of the road rehabilitation programme.

"In this case there was no report because of its political nature. There was need to protect council staff in this regard," Hlabani said.