HARARE, Jul 16 (NewsDay Live)-Chitungwiza councillors have expressed fear of attending ward consultative meetings where they are likely to be grilled by residents over poor service delivery.
Residents in the dormitory have endured shoddy services—uncollected refuse, burst sewer pipes and poor roads since the turn of the century.
Addressing the 509th ordinary council meeting at the council chambers on Wednesday, acting town clerk Japson Nemuseso urged councillors to attend the half-yearly consultative meetings. Council had initially proposed holding the first meeting on July 18, but canceled it after councillors demanded service delivery improvements before meeting residents.
Council spokesperson Tafadzwa Kachiko confirmed the development.
"The Saturday meetings in districts have been postponed and we will start by engaging residents' associations and other stakeholders first. "We will also have ward-based consultations," said Kachiko.
Finance director Evangelista Machona said the meetings are meant to review the council's performance during the first half of the year and strengthen engagement with residents.
"We are going to be having a series of these meetings. Ideally, council is supposed to hold them quarterly so that it builds a stronger relationship with residents.
"These meetings were initially scheduled for last week and everything is now in place. We are preparing a document outlining what council has done since the beginning of the year. Heads of departments will make presentations, and the documents will be shared tomorrow (Thursday)," she said.
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However, councillors argued that engaging residents before addressing poor service delivery would expose them to a hostile reception.
Councillor Agatha Mujati said residents were likely to vent their anger at councillors.
"If we go to some of the areas where council management wants us to engage residents, tinonotemwa nemazai nevagari (residents will pelt us with eggs). In places like Zengeza 2, dumpsites are everywhere, while wards 7, 10 and 11 are always littered with raw sewage.
"Residents will come with their own agenda because this is their opportunity to meet us. At least clear the dumpsites and fix the sewer problems before we engage them," she said.
Councillor Nyarai Chisango said residents in Nyatsime continued to endure poor road network.
"Council is not maintaining or even grading the roads in Nyatsime. With that background, we will not receive a good welcome. Let us first improve service delivery before holding these consultative meetings," she said.
Ward 24 councillor Obert Matsika said councillors should be fully briefed before meeting residents.
"Councillors should at least have a glimpse of what will be presented in time so we can prepare answers when residents ask questions. Let us put our house in order first and agree on a common position," he said.
Another councillor Cynthia Peluwa also questioned why councillors had not yet received the presentation documents 48 hours the meetings.
"What are we going to tell residents when they ask difficult questions?" the councillor said, describing the process as a "cat-and-mouse game".
Peluwa proposed postponing the meetings to allow councillors enough time to prepare and mobilise residents to attend in larger numbers.
