Chombo suspends all 17 MDC councillors in Mutare

By Violet Gonda

4 January 2006

The Minister of Local Government Ignatius Chombo has intensified his campaign against the opposition and suspended all 17 MDC councillors in the Mutare City Council. A caretaker commission, made up of ZANU PF candidates who failed to win in the last council elections in 2003, has been appointed to run the affairs of the Mutare council.

In a letter sent on the 30th of December, Chombo alleges mismanagement of council affairs and refusal to abide by government directives.

MDC provincial spokesman for Manicaland Pishai Muchauraya said the allegations are flimsy and merely a ploy in order to avoid working with MDC councillors. Muchauraya said further that this is mere political harassment and nothing to do with civil matters. He said Chombo has returned through the backdoor people who were rejected by Mutare residents, for example Kenneth Saruchera, the losing ZANU PF candidate for ward 11, as chairman of the commission. Other members of the commission are Ellen Gwaradzimba the losing mayoral candidate and Ronald Chayambuka who was losing candidate for ward 18. Zanu PF stalwart and former Hatfield MP Irene Zindi will be Saruchera’s deputy.

Muchauraya said the party can fight this in the courts as Chombo is breaching urban council laws. However they will withdraw from the council as they believe the minister will still do as he pleases. He said, “Failures of the commission would be blamed on the MDC. It’s either the MDC is in full control or leave ZANU PF to mess up in the city council.”

The Minister has been on a warpath and interfering in every MDC led council. The first casualty was the elected Mayor of Harare Elias Mudzuri in 2003. His entire council was suspended a year later.

This was followed by the suspension of the Mutare Mayor Joseph Kagurabadza who was relieved of his duties soon after showing UN Envoy Anna Tibaijuka the damage caused by the government during Operation Murambatsvina in July 2005. But the government is accusing him of embezzling public funds and flouting council procedures.

It’s reported that the suspended Mutare mayor will soon appear before a disciplinary hearing over the allegations levelled against him.

Last Thursday saw the MDC Mayor of Chitungwiza Misheck Shoko being the third MDC Mayor to be suspended over allegations of misconduct and maladministration.

ZANU PF has also been trying to frustrate the MDC mayors in Bulawayo and Kariba and like their counterparts, accused of mismanagement of council affairs.

After losing the majority of urban areas to the MDC in its first contest as a political party, the government has been on a campaign to destabilise the councils in these areas and take them over. Despite the mayors being elected by the people Chombo has always used his position in what is seen as settling scores with opposition members.

The MDC has always accused the government of crafting unrealistic goals in urban councils. For example, cutting rates with the knowledge that councils could not afford to do this without the danger of collapsing. The opposition party says this paved the way for the state to take greater control of politics in urban areas.

The interference in the urban councils has to a large part resulted in a steep decline in services and deterioration of council facilities. All towns have had regular water cuts, burst sewers and uncollected refuse. The capital city Harare has become infested with flies and there have been recent outbreaks of dysentery.