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Clr Manyenyeni

Collen Murahwa Herald Reporter
Harare City mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni yesterday admitted failure by the MDC-T led council to turn around the fortunes of the city.

He revealed this during an address at the handover of an ablution facility renovated by Zuva Petroleum in Southerton.

Clr Manyenyeni said as he was driving to Southerton, he realised that the state of the city including potholes left a lot to be desired and city fathers were liable.

“When I came from Town House, I thought I was coming here as mayor, but as we drove through, I saw a lot of litter, so I asked myself, am I really mayor or acting mayor,” he said.

“For the work not being done, are you residents or acting residents? We are not participating to the extent that we deliver quality services.”

Clr Manyenyeni blasted residents who were not paying rates, arguing they were stalling city progress.

“Zuva Petroleum is one of the few businesses that religiously pay their municipal bills, enabling the city to work on other areas that need attention,” he said.

“Without bills payment, there is no city. Those who have decided to live in the city must meet the demands required to live in a city.

“If you can’t do it, there are enough rural homes to go to. In this day and age when some residents just decide to ignore some council by-laws, organisations like Zuva step in, they work with us to achieve our several goals.”

Zuva chief executive officer, Mr Bethwell Gumbo, said they decided to renovate the ablution facility after realising that a health time bomb was beckoning.

“We have noticed a hazard culminating as the Southerton business centre grew from more banks, to more shops, hence more people and more traders in the area over the years, but there has not been access to safe ablution facilities hence our decision to refurbish the public toilets in the area,” he said.

“Our initiative to invest in this facility is in support of Government and local council’s initiatives to improve hygiene and sanitation nationwide.”