WATCH: Magwegwe residents want councillor out

RESIDENTS OF Magwegwe West suburb in Bulawayo yesterday staged a demonstration, demanding that the area's councillor should resign with immediate effect.

Placard waving residents marched along the streets of the suburb and accused Clr Monica Lubimbi of wayward behaviour, nepotism and unfair labour practices.

The ward 29 councillor's jurisdiction encompasses Lobengula West 3, Magwegwe North and Magwegwe West.

Last month, residents wrote a petition to the Government and the Bulawayo City Council, accusing the councillor of nepotism and extortion after she allegedly employed eight people from the same family in council's paid community sweeping groups.

Chairperson of Magwegwe West Residents Association Mr Roy Sithole led the protestors who were chanting that Clr Lubimbi was not fit to be their leader.

"She is totally lost and has failed us as a community. We demand that she immediately resign from her post. She is selective in her leadership as she employs people from Magwegwe North where she stays and excludes us. The worst thing is that when a resident in Magwegwe West is bereaved she doesn't attend," he said.



Mr Sithole said he doubted Clr Lubimbi was qualified to occupy her office before he called on the Government to make it mandatory for prospective councillors to have five Ordinary level subjects.

"Let me say that the Ministry of Public Works and National Housing should make it a prerequisite for prospective councillors to have passed five "O" levels including English Language and Mathematics. Our councillor can't even read and fails to interpret council minutes and policies. This is really letting us down as a community," he said.

The secretary for the Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura), Mr Njabulo Dube, said they were disappointed by Clr Lubimbi's wayward behaviour.

"We invited her here but she never bothered to come and doesn't want to meet us as a community. We are like orphans while we chose her to represent us," said Mr Dube.

He said they had drafted a petition which would be copied to Minister of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Nomthandazo Eunice-Sandi Moyo, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Saviour Kasukuwere and the Bulawayo Mayor Mr Martin Moyo.

Contacted for a comment, Clr Lubimbi said she was in a meeting before hanging up.

In 2007, the local authority came up with a poverty alleviation scheme backed by a full council resolution.

Locals would be hired within their wards under two different programmes, a perennial litter picking and seasonal grass slashing programme which usually takes place between June and December.

The premise behind the initiative was to help vulnerable residents and needy residents in a particular ward with a rotation based style being implemented.

In essence the scheme was meant to cater for the elderly rate payers who in most cases are failing to pay rates and to cater for orphans.

Residents alleged that Clr Lubimbi does not have a community committee to assist her in carrying out her duties and demanded that she should set up one.

"She only works with one guy from Ward 18, Erik Gono which raises suspicions among the residents," said a resident who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.