BCC committee chairpersons elected

CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC)-dominated Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has elected chairpersons and deputies of various committees to assist in service delivery programmes.

The election of the committee chairpersons and deputies came a few days after the councillors elected David Coltart as mayor and Donaldson Mabutho as his deputy.

The residents have since expressed optimism that the new council has the potential of changing the city's fortunes in terms of development considering Coltart's  good record as a Cabinet minister during the Government of National Unity which ran from 2009 to 2013.

He revived the education sector at the time to a point where pupils had a one to one ratio with textbooks.

Ward 8 councillor Edwin Ndlovu was elected to chair council's future water development committee and will be deputised by ward 6 councillor Nkosilathi Hove.

The health and housing committee will be chaired by ward 23 councillor Ntombizodwa Khumalo with ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo as his deputy. The town lands committee is chaired by ward 14 councillor Dumisani Netha who is deputised by ward 3 councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu.

The audit committee will be chaired by ward 25 councillor Aleck Ndlovu, while proportional representation councillor Melissa Mabesa will be the deputy. Ward 29 councillor Roy Sekete chairs the engineering committee deputised by Nkosilathi Hove, while the finance committee will be chaired by ward 26 councillor Mpumelelo Moyo who will be deputised by ward 5 councillor Dumisani Nkomo.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) secretary for administration, who is also BCC budget committee member, Thembelani Dube congratulated the councillors for assuming the council committee positions.

"The task ahead is a mammoth one and they must be focused on improving the livelihoods of the residents of Bulawayo. As BPRA we will be holding them to account on everything they do," Dube said.

"We encourage all councillors, including the elected chairpersons, to shun corruption, be servant leaders and finally to do everything in their power to address challenges bedevilling the city of Bulawayo."

National Consumer Rights Association co-ordinator Effie Ncube said the new Bulawayo council committee members were indicative of a city that is committed to quality service delivery. He said these were highly capable leaders with a proven track record of working for the people and delivering where it matters.

"If the 38 councillors can work together as a unit and residents and all other stakeholders play their roles in enabling city operations, then achieving the vision of a clean and prosperous city is not impossible. It all begins with having good leaders in place," Ncube said.

In an interview yesterday, future water committee chairperson, Ndlovu said his committee dealt with future plans to address water challenges in the city and theirs would strive to improve the situation.

"We look at both short and long-term plans. Long-term plans include the Matabeleland-Zambezi Water Project and Gwayi- Shangani Dam. For the short term, we must find ways of improving and conserving water at our existing dams. That's our scope of work," Ndlovu said.