Harare Residents Trust accuses elected Councillors of abandoning the electorate

Harare Residents Trust has  accused elected Councillors of abandoning the electorate once they are in office.

The trust said elected representatives, especially Ward Councillors in most communities have totally abandoned the electorate.

"They now spend most of their time acting like council workers, where they no longer defend the interest of the resident but they defend the institutional interests of the local authorities," said HRT

Going forward, we have put in place a consolidated programme of action to ensure that we monitor what they have done to fulfill their public mandate since 31 July 2013."

The trust said three key areas are of particular interest to us; what development they have facilitated in the community, strategies, policies and by-laws they have contributed in their policy making role, and how they have represented the residents, articulating the issues of the community.

"At the end of each month, councillors receive allowances drawn from ratepayers money. In Harare, only about 13 Councillors have held feedback meetings, and really gave some updates about their work, even sharing minutes of full council meetings," said the trust.