Matemadanda bemoans Mutare 'leadership vacuum'

ZANU-PF national commissar Victor Matemadanda has claimed there is a leadership vacuum at Mutare City Council as residents bemoaned the worsening poor service delivery in the city.

Matemadanda toured several areas in Mutare on Tuesday, meeting residents, vendors and transport operators among other stakeholders.

At Sakubva flea market and bus terminus, the Defence deputy minister was told of a health time bomb because of lack of ablution facilities.

"There is leadership vacuum in Mutare. The leadership is not connected to the people and this is a cancer the Mutare of people have told me of," he told journalists after the tour.

"People are saying that they have not seen their councillors since they were voted into office. This should not be the case. We have been told a lot of problems and we are going to forward them to various ministries, but I am very worried because there is no communication between the leadership and residents. Residents don't know where to send their problems."

Matemadanda said the municipality should not fear to engage its residents. In the sprawling high-density of Sakubva, raw sewage is flowing on the streets.

Recently, deputy mayor Kudakwashe Chisango said council was working tirelessly to address most of the challenges, including erratic water supplies.