Chamisa's councillors push for Bulawayo mayor, Town Clerk ouster

NEWLY elected Bulawayo councillors belonging to the Citizens Coalition for Change are reportedly pushing for the ouster of the city's mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni and Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube.

The councillors recently held a caucus at their provincial party offices, which was chaired by former deputy mayor, Mr Tinashe Kambarami and former Bulawayo Senator, Matson Hlalo, who sources have revealed that is eyeing a comeback as the party's provincial chairperson.

Mr Kambarami is not a sitting councillor as he was also recalled by the MDC-T, from representing ward three.

He is, however, challenging his recall in the courts which meant the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission could not go ahead with by-elections in the said ward.

Eight councillors from the CCC won the by-elections that were held on 26 March, namely Clr Edwin Ndlovu (Ward 8), Clr Donaldson Mabuto (Ward 9), Alderman Lilian Mlilo (Ward 12), Clr Concilia Mlalazi (Ward 18), Clr Christopher Dube (Ward 19), Ald Earnest Rafomoyo (Ward 20), Clr Tinevimbo Maposa (Ward 21) and Clr Mpumelelo Moyo (Ward 26).

CCC sources have since revealed that the caucus took place at the party offices before a mini-celebration party at a leisure spot in Fourwinds, which was also attended by Ward Two councillor Joyce Ndlovu, who was voted into office under an MDC-T ticket.

"The caucus took place on Wednesday, chaired by Kambarami and Senator Hlalo and among other things it was agreed that they push for the ouster of the Mayor and the Town Clerk. This will be done through a motion of no-confidence against the duo.

"However, the possible hold up was the issue of raising the numbers since they are a minority. Kambarami chaired the caucus and he made it clear that the councillors' mandate was to get rid of Clr Mguni and also reverse a number of policies, including the parking management system contract," said the source.

However, the party's caucus secretary, Clr Mabuto refuted the allegations, instead revealing that theirs was all about unity and advancing the aspirations of the city's residents.

"We had a meeting, that I can confirm, but I cannot say it was a caucus, it was more of a celebration meeting by the eight winning councillors and other party members.

Further, I must dismiss the speculation that is going around that we want to oust the mayor or deputy or town clerk, that is not true, we are not going to council to cause a turmoil.

"All that we are focusing on is pushing for development and creating a reconnect between council and the residents.

We also want to raise pertinent questions on issues such as the parking management system tender, our colleagues should give us answers on this issue," said Clr Mabuto.

Mr Kambarami, while confirming that the caucus took place, said their aim was to congratulate the newly elected councillors and also give them direction on how they will conduct council business once they are sworn into office.

"The meeting was mainly to congratulate the councillors who won under the party ticket.

As a new party we were also giving them direction on how they will conduct council business going forward considering that they are just a minority within the council chambers.

Further, we deliberated on the issue of the parking management system which is causing a lot of tension in the city and how they are going to handle it," said Mr Kambarami.

He refuted allegations that they were pushing for the ouster of Clr Mguni and Mr Dube, claiming the matter was never discussed.

During his tenure as Deputy Mayor, Mr Kambarami made headlines when he made moves to oust Mr Dube from office while Clr Mguni was away in South Africa. The move was, however, reversed.