Chamisa says his councillors went bonkers once elected into office

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillors have reportedly rejected a blueprint designed to promote transparency and curb corruption in local authorities, according to former party leader Nelson Chamisa. Chamisa made this claim during his appearance before the Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating governance issues at the City of Harare (CoH).

Chamisa took aim at the Urban Councils Act, arguing that it hampers efforts to hold elected councillors accountable for their actions. He accused councillors of using the legislation to shield themselves from scrutiny and prevent the implementation of transparency measures.

"In terms of the Urban Councils Act, there is nowhere individual citizens can actually have authority over the processes of council because council is a creature of statutes and council is a product of law," Chamisa said. "Anything that happens within the council is governed by statutes, laws, and procedures within that council, so any processes would be discharged by the council and not by political parties."

Chamisa further explained that political parties are not envisioned in the statutes governing local authorities, making it difficult to hold councillors accountable through party mechanisms. "Parties are not contemplated in the statutes in terms of the running of local authorities," he added.

According to Chamisa, his party attempted to institute an "integrity and accountability panel" to monitor councillors' conduct, but the councillors rejected it, citing the Urban Councils Act as a reason for their refusal to be held accountable by the party. "We attempted to actually institute what we called integrity and accountability panels from the political party side to try and rein in councillors who we felt were behaving in a untoward manner," Chamisa said. "Unfortunately, they said, in terms of the law, there is no way the party can take us to account on anything because we are not governed by the party, we are governed by the electorate, we are governed by the statutes, we are governed by the Urban Councils Act."

The City of Harare has faced widespread accusations of corruption, particularly among opposition councillors who have been implicated in land allocation scandals. Town House, the seat of the city council, has come under scrutiny over massive graft, prompting President Emmerson Mnangagwa to establish a probe team led by retired Justice Maphios Cheda to investigate the allegations.

Chamisa expressed frustration over the behaviour of elected councillors once they assume office. "In fact, what bleeds my heart is the fact that each time councillors are elected on a party ticket, the moment they go into council, they go rogue, neglecting their primary mandate," he said. "They go bonkers, run amok, throw away all dictates of reason, throw away all dictates of allegiance and loyalty to the party, which I can't understand."

Chamisa's comments shed light on the challenges facing local governance in Zimbabwe, particularly in relation to the transparency and accountability of elected officials. Despite efforts to rein in corruption, the current legal framework and internal party dynamics appear to be obstacles to meaningful reform in local authorities.