BY XOLISANI NCUBE
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has threatened to come hard on civil servants who yesterday snubbed the national clean-up campaign, saying they would find themselves out of jobs.
Addressing Chitungwiza residents, Mnangagwa said some of his staffers did not participate in the national clean-up programme and opted to stay put in their offices.
“As I was leaving office, I saw some civil servants seated in their offices as if they did not know we have this programme. I said, okay, let me go since I want cleanliness and these
people (act as if they) do not know that I had declared this day as a national day. But let me say this; we shall see. They will find themselves in their rural areas. I don’t know how they will live there since they will also find people there busy with the cleanliness programme,” Mnangagwa said.
Government last year announced that every first Friday of the month should be a national clean-up day as a way of promoting clean cities for tourism and economic growth.
Mnangagwa has religiously led the event.
He said since the launch of the programme in November, Harare central business district had changed its outlook and this he attributed to the support being given by residents.
Mnangagwa came face-to-face with the water situation in Chitungwiza.
He was told by the new town mayor Lovemore Maiko that the dormitory town was receiving water supplies from Harare at least twice a week, a feat the President said should be corrected.
He invited the new mayor to his office so they could share the town’s problems and see how government could assist.
“Mayor, when you find time, may you pay a visit to my office so that you tell me all your problems and we find out how we can help each other,” Mnangagwa said.
“If there are problems that we can solve, we solve them and if they are problems that we cannot solve, we will put them aside.”
Maiko said he was prepared to engage Mnangagwa.
