BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

Government is set to table the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) forensic audit report before Parliament in the first week of August, saying the delays were necessitated by a number of queries that needed to be unpacked by experts before it is made public.

Labour and Social Welfare minister Sekai Nzenza (pictured) told a Zanu PF gathering in Marondera recently that the audit report is available and that it will be ready for tabling after consultations concerning four major critical areas that needed to be “unpacked by experts”.

“The report is there and will be made available end of this month. The delays are a result of certain things that needed to be unpacked by experts hence, the
report is being examined and scrutinised by these experts in various areas unearthed by the audit. This is critical in that the ministry will come up with a
comprehensive document as well as adopting some measures to handle NSSA interests that is as far as recovery proceedings or criminal action is concerned,”
Nzenza said.

Nzenza, who is also Chikomba East legislator, said the report has irregularities in four critical areas that need to be unpacked by law expert.

“The four critical issues are not hindering the release (of the report), they just need to be unpacked by expert lawyers, and then I will present the report.
The four issues include irregularities in corporate governance, human resources, IT and investments,” she added.

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri handed over the report to government in March and it is yet to be made public.

In May, Parliament gave Nzenza an ultimatum to release the latest external forensic audit report on NSSA which reportedly implicates senior government
officials, including serving and former cabinet ministers in multi-million dollar looting scandals.

However, NewsDay is reliably informed that government has since notified the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda and the Parliamentary Committee
on Budget and Finance on the latest developments with the responsible minister set to table the report during the first week of August.

There are reports of gross abuse of public funds at NSSA, among other scandals that involve dodgy and non-existing investments.

BY JAMES MUONWA/NUNURAI JENA

THE Land Commission, appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to investigate the sale of State land, opened its hearings in Chinhoyi on Wednesday, where it exposed “dubious land developers” who included top Zanu PF officials.

The Justice Tendayi Uchena-chaired probe team raised concern over the calibre and capacity of some of the land barons who were allocated State land, but had, until now, not developed infrastructure to enable beneficiaries to move onto their stands.

The commission also raised a red-flag over some land developers and questioned their capacity to deliver.

The developers include Defence and War Veterans Affairs minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri’s daughter, Tanya Rushesha who is director of Tabularasa (Pvt) Ltd.

The company was allocated 30 hectares of land in 2013 and created 624 housing stands. Tabularasa has, to date, not serviced the area.

Beneficiaries are yet to move onto their stands which do not have water and sewer reticulation systems.

Other developers who got land include Millypack (Pvt) Limited owned by Zanu PF youth league deputy secretary for economic empowerment, Mike Chimombe (30
hectares) and Zanu PF-linked Reverend Obadiah Msindo, the proprietor of Destiny for Afrika Network who received 75 hectares.

Commissioner Heather Chingono said she was not amused by the lack of development, despite land developers having layout plans approved.

She questioned the criteria used by the Local Government ministry in identifying developers, insinuating “most don’t have the capacity and experience to
effectively do their work”.

Chingono grilled Local Government provincial planning officer Sekai Matimba, who struggled to answer questions put to her.

“Do you have selection criteria for developers? Did you have allocation criteria as a department and what has happened to the land you parcelled out to private
land developers, since 2013?” quizzed Chingono.

“We are struggling to see what substantially has been done six years down the line.”

Responded Matimba: “No, we do not have the criteria as these memorandum of agreements are done at head office. We don’t even know what conditions are there.”

Justice Uchena lamented the collapse in governance systems that has resulted in lack of accountability, poor work ethics and procedure lapses.

Zanu PF Zvimba South MP and businessman Phillip Chiyangwa also came under the commission’s radar after it was discovered that his Chinhoyi Citrus Farm, situated on the periphery of the town, was not on the list of farms earmarked for urban expansion.

Chingono asked why Citrus Farm was precluded from the list, prompting provincial lands officer Malvin Mhaka to disclose that the farm was repossessed following
the withdrawal of the mogul’s prior offer letter.

The probe continues today with Chinhoyi Municipality officials led by town clerk Maxwell Kaitano expected to appear before the panel.

Dear Presidents of Political Parties,

We are writing to you on behalf of the 52% of women in Zimbabwe whose interests are underrepresented in a male dominated Parliament and Local Government.

This is an issue that has been raised by many stakeholders and as you are aware it undermines the letter and spirit of the Constitution more specifically Sections 17, 56 and 80 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

These sections collectively envisage a Zimbabwe leadership structure where men and women are equally represented at all levels.

In other words, it aspires for a political and legal order where men and women enjoy equal access to leadership opportunities.

It is disturbing to note that since the passage of the Constitution in 2013, women representation in directly elected positions in Parliament and Local Government structures remains low and in retreat all together.

For example, in 2013 out of the 210 directly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) only 13.8% women were elected and in 2018 the number was reduced to a paltry 12.8%. In Local Government structures (councillors), in 2013 only 16% of the directly elected councillors were women and was reduced to low of 13.3% in 2018.

At the top Presidium level within the country, we currently do not have a woman President nor Vice President.

This precarious situation is reflective of a cross cutting political and patriarchal culture which generally sidelines women from leadership.

The sidelining of women results in policy and legislative frameworks which fail to improve the status of women in the country and causes greater poverty and alienation of women from development initiatives.

We therefore ask your offices to address this serious challenge which puts our constitutional democracy on trial. It poses the critical question that: How can a country develop when a majority of its people are disenfranchised from leadership?

As the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE), drawing our mandate from Section 7(c) of the Constitution, make the following recommendations to Political Parties:

i)Political parties prioritize women as candidates in all by-elections that may arise in Parliament and Local authorities across the country in between now and the 2023 national elections.

ii)Replace all vacant positions left by female MPs or Councillors during by-elections with fellow women leaders. An example is the upcoming by-election in Glen View South Constituency that fell vacant after the death of Hon Vimbai Tsvangirai Java. If Hon Java is replaced by a male MP it means the number of women directly elected in Parliament will fall from 26 to 25.

iii)Create a conducive environment free of violence and intimidation that allows women to freely campaign.

iv)Criminalize vote buying during elections as this disadvantages aspiring female leaders most of whom have limited economic resources to spend on campaigning.

v)Incorporate the 50/50 gender representation in political party constitutions. Those that already have must fully operationalize their gender parity clauses in order to guarantee equal representation in all leadership positions.

vi)Political parties with MPs in Parliament must move motions to fully align the Electoral Act with the Constitution in fulfillment of section 17, 56 and 80. This will help the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in enforcing 50/50 gender representation on all political party lists during elections.

These provisions will ensure that political parties and the arms of Government at every level offer equal opportunities for men and women. It is our sincere hope that as leaders in your parties you will heed our call and begin processes that show real commitment towards empowerment of women because if She Rises We all Rise.

For and on behalf of the Aspiring Women Leaders of Zimbabwe.

EXPECTING mothers and girl children are often forgotten during times of disasters such as tropical cyclones and floods, and they often end up bearing the worst brunt of the catastrophes.

BY FARAI MATIASHE

Most aid agencies’ primary focus will be on rolling out food handouts and shelter to the victims.

The immediate needs of pregnant mothers and girl children are usually eclipsed in the whole matrix, leaving them vulnerable to various forms of abuse.

Some of the girls receiving donations from YMCA in Chimanimani

This was seen when Cyclone Idai pounded the eastern parts of Manicaland province, including Chimanimani and Chipinge, leaving a trail of destruction and claiming the lives of many in March this year.

Expectant mothers had some of their preparation kits washed away, while some were left widowed after their husbands went missing or were killed.

Factoring the current economic environment in the country, most women in the affected areas are neither employed nor engaged in any meaningful income generating projects to sustain their livelihoods.

While donations trickled in from well-wishers across the world, very few spared a thought for the unborn child.

Most pregnant women who were affected by Cyclone Idai are housed in camps set up by relief organisations such as Red Cross, Red Crescent, United Kingdom Aid and United Nations International Children Emergency Fund.

Due to deteriorating health standards at most health centres in the country, expecting mothers are expected to bring cotton wool, methylated spirit and preparation for the child.

With the current economic crisis and unemployment rate at over 90%, most women cannot afford the requirements, worse for those in Cyclone Idai-hit areas.

According to United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), about 67 500 women of reproductive age in Chimanimani and Chipinge are in need of sexual and reproductive health services; 1 250 were pregnant.

In the three months following the tropical storm`s destruction, UNFPA anticipated 3 750 live births, among which 560 women were expected to experience pregnancy and birth-related complications.

However, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), with the support from Y-Care International brought back the smiles on the faces of expecting mothers after they handed over hampers of baby preparation sets to them. The hampers included baby clothes, wrapping towels, buckets, bathing dishes, nappies, washing soap, petroleum jelly, cotton wool for the mother and re-usable pads.

An expecting mother at Aboratum Camp in Ngangu, Chimanimani, Kuda Ndima (36), could not hide her joy after receiving the preparation set hamper.

She lost two children and her husband during the cyclone and her only hope is now vested in the unborn child she is expecting to deliver in the next few weeks.

“I cannot hide my joy. This is a surprise. I had no money to purchase this preparation set for my child. I virtually lost everything during the disaster and I had no money to buy another set,” she said with tears of joy.

“I would like to express my gratitude to YMCA and Y Care for their timely intervention. In few weeks, I will be delivering my baby with adequate needs.”

Another beneficiary, Joyline Chatanga (24), said God`s time is the best.

“We are only receiving food aid but we were stressed about the needs of the expected child. There is no meaningful income generating projects in this camp. We are just seated all day and it is difficult to be fed like a chicken. We thank these people for thinking like humans. I am so delighted and I am now stress free as you know stress is not good for pregnant mothers like me,” Chatanga said while packing her delivery baby preparation set.

Bennies Sithole (30) from Kondo Camp, who received goods on behalf of his expectant wife, Stella Dirikwi, 19, said: “I was not expecting from anyone. This is a major surprise because at the moment, I am just holed here in the camp with nothing to do. There is no employment to talk of in these areas because people are still recovering from the effects of Cyclone Idai.

Sithole said without the support of YMCA, he had no other plans on how he was going to raise money to buy preparation materials for the unborn child.

“It was difficult for me to buy preparation for the child as you can see that our source of livelihood, which was agriculture, was destroyed and we were left with nothing to sustain our families. May God bless these people for sparing a thought for the unborn child,” Sithole said while receiving the preparation set.

Yvonne Mutume, 26, from Aboratum Camp, said the donation would give her a peace of mind as it came during her darkest hour.

“This assistance will forever be pitched in my mind because it came just on the right time. I am very delighted with this development,” Mutume said.

Village head for Pfumo village, which falls under Chief Muusha, Nickson Pfumo, expressed his gratitude towards the gesture, saying the support, would go a long way in rebuilding the traumatised society.

“People can easily rebuild their lives if they receive maximum help and support. I am delighted that pregnant women and children are being assisted to rebuild their lives. Without hope and support, we will perish,” Pfumo said.

Besides assisting the expectant mothers, YMCA also handed over stationery to affected students in camps and Machongwe areas, which included satchels, counter books, exercise books, pens and pencils.

Women and girls in both Machongwe areas and camps also received re-usable sanitary pads.

YMCA Zimbabwe youth chairperson Elton Jim said there was a holistic approach to assist the victims of Cyclone Idai.

“We firmly believe and are fully persuaded that to use a holistic approach is not just distributing food handouts. We are looking to something that is more sustainable and our primary focus is women and young children because they are the future of our country.

“We have also seen it fit to remember pregnant women by handing over some preparation set for the unborn child. Despite Cyclone Idai which ravaged these areas, we firmly believe that there should be special attention to maternity needs to ensure decent delivery and reduce risk of post natal mortality,” Jimu said.

He said health was also a focus for their organisation and as such they were giving re-usable sanitary pads.

“Currently, we are at a point where young girls here will be sewing the pads and sell to other communities outside the Cyclone Idai-hit areas so that they can raise income for other needs. Currently, we have a rural branch in Tanda, Rusape we will be operating from there as well.

“This is a critical project for now, looking at our economic situation. Most women cannot afford sanitary pads and it is imperative that we produce re-usable sanitary pads. We are supporting the psycho-social support programme to help the people make sure they heal and continue with their lives,” Jimu said.

Sanitary pads in the country are trading from ZWL$4,50 to ZWL$8, depending with brands, making the essential product going beyond the reach of many.

YMCA national programmes co-ordinator, Francis Lembani, said they will continue to look at gaps in the Cyclone Idai hit areas and assist those in need.

“Maternal health, child welfare and education are our key areas. We believe these are key indicators of the country`s economic growth,” Lembani said.

According to government reports, Cyclone Idai destroyed more than 2 500 houses and displaced 4 000 people.

FORMER Zimbabwe Warriors striker, Shingayi Kawondera has sued Vice-President Constantino Guveya Chiwenga’s wife Marry for US$700 000, claiming that she fraudulently obtained a divorce order against him to facilitate her marriage to the then army commander.

BY CHARLES LAITON

According to the court papers, Kawondera says the US$700 000 is compensation for the immovable property and a company called Latchelle (Pvt) Ltd which were awarded to Marry as a result of the divorce.

The former footballer claims he never consented to divorcing Marry as alleged in the court papers that formed the basis of the dissolution of their marriage in July 2011 and that his signature was forged.

Reports suggest that the Chiwengas customarily married in 2011.

Kawondera said when his marriage to Marry was nullified, he was in Cyprus where he was playing football and there was never a time when he signed court papers confirming receipt of summons seeking divorce by his ex-wife.

“The parties in this matter (Kawondera and Marry) were formerly married to each other and the parties’ marriage was dissolved by a decree of divorce granted by this honourable court on May 19, 2011. The defendant had issued summons out of this court on June 7, 2010 seeking an order of divorce and ancillary relief under case number HC3805/10,” he said through his lawyers.

“Plaintiff (Kawondera) was never served with the summons as required by the rules of the court. Plaintiff was
not in the country, but was in Cyprus where he was a professional footballer at the relevant time.

“Defendant (Marry) fraudulently caused a return of service to be issued by the Deputy Sheriff at Harare falsely claiming that the plaintiff had been personally served with the summons on June 22, 2010 at Harare.”

Kawondera said Marry also fraudulently authored a consent paper dated July 7, 2010 wherein his signature was forged, agreeing to the divorce proceedings under HC3805/10.

The former Warriors star said in the said divorce proceedings, Marry also relied on an affidavit of a waiver and an amended affidavit of a waiver which purported to have been deposed by him.

“In actual fact, plaintiff never deposed to the said affidavits and the signatures purporting to be those of the plaintiff were forged by the defendant. The defendant also caused a firm of lawyers Samkange and Venturas to purport to act on behalf of the plaintiff and to make concession on plaintiff’s behalf. Plaintiff had never at any given time instructed the said firm of lawyers to act on his behalf,” Kawondera said.

“The cumulative effect of defendant’s fraudulent activities referred to above is that an order of divorce was granted on an unopposed basis. Plaintiff was never given a chance to either defend the divorce proceedings under HC3805/10 or to consent thereto.”

Kawondera averred that the High Court judge, who presided over the divorce proceedings, was misled by the VP’s wife into granting an unopposed order when, in fact, he was never made aware of the court proceedings.

“The granting of the divorce order without according plaintiff a chance to be heard constitutes a grave act of injustice and a serious infraction on plaintiff’s right to be heard. As a result of the irregular and fraudulent obtaining of a divorce order by defendant, plaintiff was seriously prejudiced in that: The defendant remained with all the immovable properties that the parties had acquired together during the subsistence of the marriage,” he said.

Kawondera said all of his clothes and property remained with Marry after the fraudulent divorce, thus he is now seeking an order for compensation against her.

“No distribution of the parties’ matrimonial assets occurred and plaintiff was left with nothing as defendant allocated to herself all the parties matrimonial assets, this, in spite of plaintiff having substantially contributed to the matrimonial estate,” he said.

“Plaintiff’s contribution to the formation and capitalisation of a company called Latchelle (Pvt) Ltd was not compensated. This is in spite of plaintiff having contributed various sums of money which defendant had started during the marriage.”

Kawondera added that as a direct result of Marry’s alleged fraud, he has been impoverished as she unjustly grabbed all the matrimonial assets that the parties had acquired together, contrary to the laws of Zimbabwe.

“Wherefore, plaintiff prays for an order that defendant is ordered to pay damages to plaintiff in the sum of US$700 000, interest at the prescribed rate from date of issue of summons until payment in full plus costs of suit on a higher scale,” he said.

Norton MP Temba Mliswa (indepedent) has threatened to drag government to court to force it to improve the welfare of MPs by providing them with vehicles and increase their salaries.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

Raising a point of privilege in the National Assembly yesterday, Mliswa said lawmakers had been neglected by the Executive and he was now taking the matter to the Constitutional Court to force the state to act.

“The welfare of parliamentarians must be taken seriously madam speaker. When the Executive makes an undertaking, they must fulfil it. Madam Speaker, I am going to approach the Constitutional Court to ensure that this matter is dealt with. The salaries of MPs have not changed and the cost of living has gone up,” Mliswa said

Government has delayed availing vehicles to MPs due to budgetary constraints. Finance minister Mthuli Ncube last week promised to procure the vehicles for the MPs this week.

“The SROC (Standing Rules and Orders Committee) makes decisions and they are ignored by the executive. We were given the ZW$50 000 as CDF (Constituency Development Fund), but the money has been eroded. Something has to be done,” Mliswa said.

In November last year, MPs arm-twisted Mthuli to allocate money for their welfare after refusing to increase the budget.

The MPs want government to buy Land Cruisers, which they said “is the only car good enough for MPs to do their work because the Mazdas and Toyotas we get are not good enough”.

Meanwhile, Mliswa yesterday blocked MDC MPs from quizzing government on claims that First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa was being threatened by some military personnel, saying the audio circulating on social media should not be taken seriously.

MDC MP Innocent Gonese had asked Home Affairs minister Cain Mathema on what steps government was doing to protect its citizens who included the First Lady.

Before Mathema could respond, Mliswa stood up saying Parliament could not discuss social media issues and to this end, Mathema did not respond to the question with regard to the first lady.

On Tuesday, the social media was awash with an audio conversation allegedly between the First Lady and a top military commander, believed to be Samson Murombo where she allegedly claimed that some army officers were plotting to kill her and the President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The authenticity of the audio has remained questionable with Zanu PF supporters alleging voice morphing.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Monica Mutsvangwa has called on media houses to improve the welfare of journalists considering the important role they play in disseminating information to the public.

BY FARAI MATIASHE

Addressing journalists after touring Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) offices in Graniteside in Harare yesterday, Mutsvangwa said she was concerned about the current welfare of journalists in the country which she felt was affecting their work.

“The welfare of our journalists needs to be transformed. There is a saying that if you throw nuts you get monkeys. They need to be well paid,” she said.

Mutsvangwa said journalists were supposed to be provided with refresher courses and training to improve their reporting.

She chided journalists for publishing articles that painted a negative picture of the country and defaming prominent personalities and politicians.

“I am happy to see you working. This is a very important job that you are doing. The Constitution calls for dissemination of information and it is my mandate as a minister to interact with you. I have brought my permanent secretary (Nick Mangwana) and we are open. If you need anything come to us. Let us remove them and us attitude. We are all Zimbabweans,” Mutsvangwa said.

“I am a war veteran; I fought for this country when I was 15 years old. What I fought for is freedom and democracy peace and stability. One can choose to be Zanu PF or MDC or any other political party. When you are writing bear in mind that the pen can create a discord in other people’s lives. It can destroy political leaders. Let us be professional and factual when reporting.”

The minister said licensing of community and commercial radio stations was at an advanced stage with a new Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe board expected to be appointed next week.

“We are opening up airwaves. We know there is high demand for radio licenses. The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe will invite applications soon. We will do it across the board and no one will be favoured in terms of licenses. They will be awarded in terms of qualifications,” Mutsvangwa said.

AMH is the biggest private media organisation in the country and publishes NewsDay, The Standard and Zimbabwe Independent and also operates Heart & Soul Television.

The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC yesterday said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, in its present form, does not have the capacity to decently reward its employees unless there is change in the political landscape to take on board other players.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

MDC spokesperson Daniel Molokele said without the political dialogue, Zimbabwe’s future was doomed.

“Obviously, the government has no capacity,” Molokele said. “That is why we are saying the current political set up, as it stands, does not have the capacity, not even in a thousand years, because if you were to give every civil servant ZW$4 700 where will that money come from.

“We know that the economic fundamentals of this country are not yet in place so clearly we need to go beyond the current government. Anyone having faith in this government will wait forever. They simply do not have capacity.
“We are now saying it is no longer a Zanu PF matter or an MDC matter, but it is a national crisis and we need to resolve it as Zimbabweans.”

Civil servants are demanding at least $4 700, but the government has only offered far less than the anticipated, pushing the civil servant to declare incapacitation.

On Tuesday, they marched in protest before submitting a petition, calling on government to act swiftly or they take appropriate action.

The MDC has refused to accept Mnangagwa’s legitimacy since the disputed elections last year and is pressing for a political dialogue curated by a neutral party involving many players including civil society to correct the situation.

MDC secretary for labour Gideon Shoko said government must face its workers and negotiate decent wages.

“Civil servants are right by demanding that they be given salary increases. Us as MDC, we are very clear about these issues. These issues are happening because of the politics of this country and this is why we say let’s deal with the politics and when we are done with the politics everything will fall in place,” Shoko said.

“It is very important that the government works on these issues as soon as possible so that we have a satisfied public service.”

He said the amount put forward by civil servants was a negotiating figure and the government must consider the figure in good faith.

Meanwhile, Shoko slammed the intimidation of Zimbabwe Congress Trades Union leaders, saying this infringes on their constitutional rights. This follows reports that unknown people send the top leadership bullets, ostensibly to intimidate them against mobilising against the Zanu PF led government in the wake of the worsening economic situation in the country.

HOME Affairs minister Cain Mathema and Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga face a for $500 000 lawsuit each for the arrest and harassment of MDC organising secretary Amos Chibaya during the January fuel price hike protests.

By Brenna Matendere

Chibaya was arrested in January after being accused of inciting public violence in a case in which police said he addressed youths at his house in Mkoba and incited them to embark on violent conduct during protests against fuel price increases announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He was kept at Gweru Central Police Station cells for four days after the police applied for a further detention order at the lapse of the mandatory 48 hours.

He was later detained at Whawha medium prison for over two weeks after police opposed bail at the Magistrates’ Court, only to be granted his freedom at the Masvingo High Court.

In March, provincial magistrate Charity Maphosa then acquitted him of the charges at the end of the State’s case.
However, documents obtained by Southern Eye indicate that the Mkoba legislator will formally sue Mathema, Matanga and the Central Investigations Department’s Law and Order police officers who arrested him and handled his case.
The official notice to sue was delivered to the respondents on May 29 and expires at the end of this month, after the lapse of the 60 days that are permitted at law.

Chibaya’s lawyer, Reginald Chidawanyika, confirmed the development and said Mathema and Matanga, together with the other respondents, had not responded to the notice.

“We are taking those who were responsible for the persecution of MP Chibaya during the fuel hike protests to the High Court demanding damages of $500 000 per person. The arrest and the pain suffered by my client during the lengthy detention were with no basis and the police knew he was innocent,” Chidawanyika said.

Investigations by Chibaya’s lawyers revealed that Moffart Kanda, one of the witnesses the police had intended to lead in court, saying he was part of the gathering addressed by Chibaya at his house was, in fact, a fugitive.
Kanda has a case of illegal possession of a firearm that was allegedly committed in 2006, but he fled the country at that time.

THE MDC leadership has summoned its Bulawayo councillors who last week faced protests from ratepayers over poor service delivery and endless infighting among city fathers.

BY NQOBANI NDLOVU

The melee at City Hall, saw a clique of councillors led by deputy mayor Tinashe Kambarami suspending town clerk Christopher Dube on allegations of corruption and derelict of duty, among a cocktail of allegations.

The summoning of the councillors comes as a Bulawayo High Court Judge Thomson Mabhikwa was today set to deliver a judgement on MDC councillor and deputy mayor Kambarami’s eligibility for council office.

Protest movement 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement Trust challenged Kambarami’s election on the grounds that he has a criminal record after he was convicted of stealing an extension code by a Bulawayo magistrate last year.

The Bulawayo council has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, with chaos at the local authority culminating in the councillors’ attempt to suspend town clerk last week.

The “suspension” is linked to the battle for control of the second city’s tenders, land allocation and procurement processes.

MDC national spokesperson Daniel Molokele yesterday confirmed the summoning of the councillors by party leadership, but referred the Southern Eye to the party’s deputy local government secretary Clifford Hlatywayo for comment.

“The councillors are coming to Harare for an internal process to resolve those issues, but as you might be aware we have managed to de-escalate the situation by saying let us return to the status quo. What it means is that the town clerk must come back to work pending further investigation,” Molokele said.

Hlatywayo said the party wanted to capacitate not only Bulawayo councilors, but its local government representatives, particularly on policy framework.

“It is not about summoning Bulawayo councillors; the issue is about making sure that our councils are well equipped in terms of capacity, in terms of ideas and policy framework. We are actually working with all councils,” Hlatywayo told Southern Eye.

Hlatywayo added: “We are doing that across the country, including Bulawayo. It is about a collective way of making sure that our councils work to the best interests of the residents, to deliver the party’s Smart policies to the people of Bulawayo, Harare and everywhere across the country. We are the governing (party) in local authorities and we are implementing those Smart policies…”

Smart is an acronym for the MDC’s sustainable and modernisation agenda for real transformation policy document unveiled ahead of last year’s elections.

Fed up with the endless fights in council, Bulawayo residents on Friday protested against the councillors, demanding that they step down. Some of the councillors, such as Felix Mhaka, were assaulted by the mob.
The MDC Bulawayo provincial women’s assembly on Tuesday pleaded for tolerance from Bulawayo residents following the assault of councillors.

Speaking at a press conference, chairperson Luba Masotsha said: “We strongly condemn all forms of tribalism. Bulawayo is a metropolitan city, which consists of many tribes. Our constitution or article 4:2 states that the MDC, in its composition and functioning, shall be inclusive, tolerant and against any forms of discrimination including racial, sexual and tribal discrimination.”