Story by Tafara Chikumira
Residents of Mvuma are up in arms with the local authority for poor service delivery which has left them exposed to waterborne diseases, amid calls for the local authority to get its priorities right.
The Chirumanzu Rural District Council is under fire for allegedly failing to prioritise service delivery in Mvuma, with roads in bad shape, while heaps of uncollected garbage are mounting.
“It’s been some time since we last received tap water. We now fear waterborne diseases such as cholera as the local authority bosses are not showing signs of rectifying the problems. We also have a problem of streetlights which are broken down thereby exposing us to all forms of danger, especially at night,” said one of the residents.
Another added, “One of our biggest challenges is the aspect of proper waste management. The refuse trucks are always broken down and sometimes we are told there is no fuel to perform the critical services.”
The local authority has attributed their deficiencies to a lack of critical resources.
CEO of Chirumanzu Rural District Council Mr Lovemore Chatikobo said, “We are currently incapacitated to undertake and carry out the mandate as expected so, we are trying to borrow money so that we can improve. Now we don’t have a front-end loader for garbage collection and road construction. However, this time around when we get our share of devolution funds, will buy the critical machinery.”
Government has given the local authority an ultimatum to come up with a workable plan to address the issue as a matter of urgency.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Honourable Owen Ncube said, “I am giving you 7 days to come up with a roadmap, on how you are going to improve service delivery here in Mvuma that you must come and submit to my office without fail. We need proper roads and ablution facilities and streetlights must be installed. The cutting grass around the town doesn’t require devolution funds. It takes a simple machine to complete the task.”
Local authorities are under scrutiny after President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the service delivery blueprint for monitoring, improving, and sustaining service delivery.
