David Coltart's holiday forces BCC to break from tradition

This year, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) had to break from tradition by holding the Annual Civic Service two weeks earlier than usual. This change in timing was necessitated by the fact that the city's mayor, Councillor David Coltart, was set to take a three-week leave, starting from October 20 and returning to office on November 12.

The Annual Civic Service Celebration is typically held on the Sunday closest to November 4, which marks the day when Bulawayo was declared a city. This event is organized and facilitated by the incumbent mayor's church with assistance from council staff. However, this year, the service was held on October 15, over two weeks ahead of the traditional date of November 5, to accommodate the mayor's leave.

Nesisa Mpofu, the local authority's spokesperson, confirmed that the change in date was due to the mayor's unavailability. In response to public complaints about not being invited to the civic service, she explained that the size of the church limited the number of attendees. The event typically involves councillors, their spouses, heads of departments, uniformed officers from the City of Bulawayo, and invited guests, including the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Members of the National Assembly, and Senators. This constrained the capacity for additional attendees from the public.