Opinion / Columnist
City of Harare Under Neglect!
18 Nov 2014 at 14:31hrs | Views
It is inundating to note that the first spate of rains caused calamity in the capital city this Monday. There was flooding resulting in numerous accidents which affected businesses, residents and motorists to unprecedented levels.
This is a crystal-clear indicator that City of Harare authorities are sleeping and snoring on duty. How can the city face such a bad omen if they have been working hard all year round? They are under mandatory obligation to do maintenance work as a matter of routine to keep checking on all needy areas and keep them under control. How can we have floods suddenly after the first rains on their first day? And what hell should we expect as the rain season persists?
It is sad that all drainage channels are blocked by litter and sand, and city fathers seem not to be moved by this ugly scene of events. All they treasure is to drive around in their official latest luxurious vehicles which have a backing of hefty salary perks which they unilaterally award themselves.
Many vehicles were submerged and/or stuck in mud. Imagine that run-off was rising to the window level of many cars. Private individuals are losing their property due to the negligence of city council. I wonder if the City Council is still doing its core responsibility as defined by its public mandate.
It is a real pity that the council cannot even cut-down trees which are falling at random hurting people, damaging vehicles and buildings. Surely, what is the cost of cutting down trees? For how long can we stay under such dangerous circumstances while city fathers spend quality time ensconced in their state of the art air- conditioned offices?
We need to entrust our city matters to responsible citizens who are sensitive to societal needs. The city fathers should be subjected to account for their incapacities now.
Traffic lights are not functioning at most intersections. This worsens the problem of traffic flow on rainy days. It seems laissez- faire is ruling in the capital. Someone at the strategic level should be taken to task to explain this perilous position to which we are subjected to by this level of incompetence demonstrated by the city fathers. I doubt if the town planners and the strategic managers are synchronizing their operations in the capital city; or there are just laymen making and passing poor decisions which have a deficit leading to our suffering as residents. Correctly qualified persons, certainly, would not misfire with that magnitude of ineffectiveness.
It is our right as citizens to know the qualifications of those running the capital city so that we can find out if they are suitably educated to implement the best policies for us in the council. The City Council is deploying vendors at every corner of the city to get a mere dollar at the expense of sanity. These vendors are allocated selling points where there are no toilets. Can someone tell us how the City Council expects these vendors to relieve themselves when nature calls? Aren't we watching a health catastrophe on the making? Whoever decided to please the vending public by ignoring this health facet is a dangerous element in council. And it's high time such persons are shown the exit.
At night the city is a dark jungle where thugs are busy hunting for easy prey to rob. What good remains of our capital now?
Shame on the City Council authorities!
Source - Suitable Kajau
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