News / National
Masvingo spruces up roads ahead of Mugabe visit
23 Jun 2017 at 06:34hrs | Views
MASVINGO City Council has come under fire for marshalling its workers to work round the clock to spruce up its roads ahead of President Robert Mugabe's scheduled campaign rally this month-end.
Residents said it was wrong for the local authority to mask its incompetence by sprucing up the city's potholed roads only when Mugabe is expected to visit.
"It is always good to have the roads serviced, but the timing now is suspicious. Why should we wait to have our roads repaired when the President visits? So if he does not visit, then it means our roads will remain in bad shape?" Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers' Association spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba said.
Mugabe is due in Masvingo on June 30 for a Zanu-PF youth rally.
Since Tuesday, city council workers were patching and marking roads leading to Mucheke Stadium, the venue of the rally.
Contacted for comment, Masvingo mayor Hubert Fidze laughed off the accusations, saying: "We have been servicing roads since the end of the rainy season. We did not start this week because the President is coming. People should talk development, not politics."
Last month, ahead of Mugabe's visit for a ground-breaking ceremony of the dualisation of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway and commissioning of the Tokwe Mukosi Dam, the council patched up some of its worn out roads and drove away vendors from the streets to paint a glossy image of the city.
Early this month, First Lady Grace Mugabe and Zanu-PF youth league leader Kudzanai Chipanga castigated Marondera Town Council for fixing potholed roads ahead of Mugabe's rally in the town.
Grace warned the local authority, which falls under Saviour Kasukuwere's Local Government ministry, to refrain from covering up its shortcomings by window-dressing whenever the President was holding events.
"This business of fixing roads when the President is being expected in a city should stop," she said.
When the 93-year-old leader came for the party's congress held at Masvingo Showgrounds last year, some major roads were marked, patched up and resurfaced, while the long-forgotten Masvingo Airport finally received a major facelift courtesy of the visit.
Residents said it was wrong for the local authority to mask its incompetence by sprucing up the city's potholed roads only when Mugabe is expected to visit.
"It is always good to have the roads serviced, but the timing now is suspicious. Why should we wait to have our roads repaired when the President visits? So if he does not visit, then it means our roads will remain in bad shape?" Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers' Association spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba said.
Mugabe is due in Masvingo on June 30 for a Zanu-PF youth rally.
Since Tuesday, city council workers were patching and marking roads leading to Mucheke Stadium, the venue of the rally.
Contacted for comment, Masvingo mayor Hubert Fidze laughed off the accusations, saying: "We have been servicing roads since the end of the rainy season. We did not start this week because the President is coming. People should talk development, not politics."
Last month, ahead of Mugabe's visit for a ground-breaking ceremony of the dualisation of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway and commissioning of the Tokwe Mukosi Dam, the council patched up some of its worn out roads and drove away vendors from the streets to paint a glossy image of the city.
Early this month, First Lady Grace Mugabe and Zanu-PF youth league leader Kudzanai Chipanga castigated Marondera Town Council for fixing potholed roads ahead of Mugabe's rally in the town.
Grace warned the local authority, which falls under Saviour Kasukuwere's Local Government ministry, to refrain from covering up its shortcomings by window-dressing whenever the President was holding events.
"This business of fixing roads when the President is being expected in a city should stop," she said.
When the 93-year-old leader came for the party's congress held at Masvingo Showgrounds last year, some major roads were marked, patched up and resurfaced, while the long-forgotten Masvingo Airport finally received a major facelift courtesy of the visit.
Source - newsday
