BULAWAYO residents have accused councillors in the city of preferring to work for their political parties while ignoring the people who voted them into office.
The residents recently took to social media platforms to vent their anger on the city fathers who have ditched them after being elected in the August 2023 elections.
Bulawayo Residents Charter chairperson Thamsanqa Ndlovu said the councillors ignore the residents’ views as soon as they got elected into office.
“When people are elected to be councillors, it does not mean they have got the monopoly of knowledge, which is where the mistake is. They are policy implementers, some are managers, not thinkers. We need a think-tank that scrutinises whatever will be put in place.
“That is what policymakers should do in conjunction with the residents, then the managers manage what will be presented by the think-tank and approved by the policy.”
He said it was improper for elected officials to hog the limelight.
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“There should be a neutral platform for engagement, with development committees knowing plans that are earmarked for their areas.
“There should not be anything happening in wards without the knowledge of development committees, otherwise, all I can say is the council would be rudderless, because it is not strengthening those institutions that are there for development,” Ndlovu said.
He said councillors had the capacity to eradicate poverty, create employment, eradicate ailments although it was not being utilised to its fullest potential.
“People are complaining that some councillors are there to represent their political parties and not the people who voted them in, revealing that in ward 19, the previous councillor did a thorough job, while the present one is so indifferent that he doesn’t even know the sewage hotspots.” he said.
“Some were saying we lack vision as a city, we have leaders who are after money and power while others are saying we let someone come and take over our streets demanding money from us and call it developing our own city.”
However, ward 3 councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu dismissed the allegations saying he engages residents.
“It’s not the same with my ward, I receive messages from people in my ward appreciating the work I do, everyday. These complaints should be directed to those councillors that are not working. It’s not all of us who are like that,” Mahlangu said.
He said people should consider that some councillors are limited by the incapacitation faced in the city, bemoaning the shortage of resources.
“People should understand that they may complain that councillors are lacking or not conducting meetings to hear their complaints, but there are no resources to do that, imagine earning US$39 and you are expected to use fuel moving around the ward,” he said.