Bulawayo needs urgent cleansing, says Coltart

FORMER Primary and Secondary Education minister David Coltart says Bulawayo is now a mess and needs urgent and serious cleansing by incoming councillors.

Coltart, who is eyeing the city's ward 4 on a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) ticket, told Sunday Southern Eye that poor service delivery and corruption had crippled the once-great city.

Coltart is tipped to become the next city mayor if CCC wins the majority of council seats in the August 23 elections.

 "Bulawayo needs some serious cleansing in two respects," Coltart said.

"First, we need to deal with the crippling corrupt activities that have manifested themselves that people are complaining about.

"A variety of contracts are being issued under unclear circumstances which do not appear to be in the best interests of the city."

He added: "It's time to scrutinize all the existing contracts and or memorandum of agreements.

"We need to make sure that they have been entered into lawfully with due process and tender procedures were followed."

There has been public outcry surrounding the awarding of tenders in the city with the most recent being Trendy Tree Investments (TTI) for vehicle parking management.

Eyebrows have also been raised over the ill-fated Egodini Mall project.

South African engineering firm, Terracotta Private Limited, has failed to make any meaningful progress in the construction of the mall despite having won the tender several years ago.

The council has in the past lost several thousands of dollars to briefcase companies owing to questionable tender and procurement procedures.

In 2021, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) launched a probe into council operations following complaints by residents' representative groups and other stakeholders.

There has also been concern over poor service delivery as seen in water borne diseases such as diarrhoea now becoming endemic.

"We need to create a safe and clean environment for our residents and restore our pride while looking into local expertise, which will generate employment for the locals," Coltart said.

"I was happy to support CCC from the sidelines without necessarily taking part in active politics; however, a number of people approached me including Nelson Chamisa (CCC leader).

"He said he would like me to run for council  with the view to perhaps be elected mayor should we have the numbers."

Local government experts have said the fight against graft in the municipality can only be successful if council audit offices are made independent with powers to investigate council management.

The council has an assets declaration policy but only two councillors out of 29 outgoing councillors, Rodney Jele of Nkulumane and Arnold Batirai of Nketa, declared their assets.

The outgoing council was led by MDC-T after councillors pledged their loyalty to Douglas Mwonzora in the fight for the control of the opposition party.

Some councillors that were recalled by Mwonzora were re-elected on a CCC ticket last year, but the Chamisa led party was in the minority.