EDITORIAL COMMENT: Chitungwiza could be a tip of the iceberg

ZIMBABWE prides itself in being the most literate nation in Africa, and Zimbabwean professionals are sought after the world over. What is more, the economic challenges that afflicted the country since the turn of the millennium spawned largely by the West’s illegal sanctions regime that led to capital flight and closure of industries, and in so doing compressed the economy by a factor of over 40 percent, has meant that many of our highly educated professionals are out of work and only eager to find a foothold in the economy.

It thus comes as a surprise to hear that Chitungwiza Municipality which is supposed to superintend over the affairs of the country’s third largest town in terms of population is employing unqualified, and illiterate staff to manage the affairs of the town. As we report elsewhere in this issue, a commission appointed by Government to turnaround the fortunes of Chitungwiza Municipality has made shocking revelations that some employees can neither read nor write while some do not even have the basic five O-Levels, which are a prerequisite for employment.

This is unacceptable and calls for a further probe into how such people ended up on the council payroll. While the revelations are shocking, they in a way explain why the affairs of Chitungwiza are in such a shambolic state with unplanned settlements, unregulated allocation of residential stands even in areas earmarked for recreational purposes, and the council’s perennial failure to tame the litter, sewage and water supply problems that have turned the sprawling town into an eyesore.

We urge the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to not only act on Chitungwiza, but also extend the probe to other local authorities that are giving ratepayers a raw deal.

Chitungwiza may just be a tip of the iceberg. We do not understand how residents who are paying their bills fail to get the services they are paying for.

That failure can only be attributed to the incompetence of the councils that are supposed to be managing their affairs.

Government must also keep an eagle eye on the goings on in local authorities as some of these unqualified people have been getting fat at the expense of long-suffering residents and ratepayers.

We have all heard and read about the mega-salaries and perks the officials give themselves, perks not matched by the level of service delivery.

Government should also move to stipulate minimum qualifications required for one to be eligible to stand for election as a councillor because right now the bar is so low yet the councillors are supposed to superintend over council affairs.

It is time we walked the talk on our celebrated literacy.

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