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| The councillor for ward 22, who is also the Mayor of Bulawayo, Clr Thaba Moyo addresses residents at Nkulumane Hall on Saturday 26 January 2013 |
THIS
past weekend (26 - 27 January 2013) Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association
(BPRA) held four consultative meetings in Nkulumane, Pumula North, Old Pumula
and Luveve. The meetings provided platforms for residents to engage with their
respective councillors on pertinent issues of service delivery and local
governance. Representatives from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) had also been invited to the
meetings, but they were not able to attend the meetings.
The
major issues discussed at the meetings included:
The water crisis
in Bulawayo – Councillors told residents that the
water committee would be meeting on Wednesday 30 January 2013 to discuss the water
crisis where a decision would be made to either reduce water shedding days or
leave them at the current four days a week.
- Refuse
collection – The councillors and the residents in attendance
castigated residents for littering and illegal dumping of refuse. The issues of
irregular collection of refuse by the local authority and the fact that residents
have no bins were not raised. However councillors argued that BCC could only collect
refuse twice every month due to unavailability of refuse compactors and shortage
of funds.
-
Road Maintenance
– Speaking at the meeting held in Nkulumane, Mayor Thaba Moyo hinted that there
was a need for roads in the city to be overhauled and new ones built. He
overtly stated that patching of potholes was not working as the patching was
washed away whenever rains began.
-
Property
Maintenance - Residents bemoaned the poor state of
council property, including halls, arguing that BCC was neglecting its
properties. Councillors responded by saying that there was a need for
properties to be maintained, but the local authority was facing financial challenges
because residents were unable to pay their bills due to the harsh economic
climate prevailing in the country.
-
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| A resident makes a contribution during the meeting held at Nkulumane Hall |
By-laws on
informal traders - Residents urged the local authority
to relax some of its by-laws with regards to informal traders, arguing that
high unemployment had left most residents reliant on vending and small scale
trading. They said the country was in an abnormal situation, hence it was
absurd to adhere to laws that were crafted for normal situations. They thus
requested that municipal police be lenient on residents trading without
licenses.
Regards
Information Department
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association
Bus. Tel: +263 9 61196
Cell: +263 773 788 183
Website: www.bulawayoresidents.org
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