CCC, Zanu-PF face off

During a full council meeting in Chivhu, four opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillors walked out in protest after alleging that Zanu-PF councillors had secretly assumed strategic committee chairmanship positions.

Zanu-PF secured a majority in Chikomba Rural District Council with 25 wards compared to CCC's five. The CCC councillors, representing Chivhu town, claimed that Zanu-PF had imposed a rural ward councillor as the town board chair, despite the opposition winning all the urban wards in Chivhu. They also alleged that Zanu-PF appointed its councillors to key committee positions outside the full council meeting.

In a letter dated September 25 addressed to Chikomba RDC's chief executive officer, Bullen Chiwara, the CCC councillors requested the nullification of the procedures that led to the appointment of rural ward councillors to oversee Chivhu town affairs. They argued that the process violated the RDC Act and the constitution.

Chiwara responded by advising the councillors to raise their concerns at the next full council meeting, stating that the matter should be addressed by the entire council.

Chikomba RDC council chairperson and Zanu-PF ward 17 councillor, Israel Dhikinya, defended the inclusion of rural councillors in the town board, stating that some rural wards had urban interests and should be represented accordingly. He also mentioned that the complaining councillors were not present during the full council meeting.