The Gwanda Municipality has started consultations on the town’s proposed master plan with mayor Thulani Moyo describing the engagement with residents as positive.
Moyo said the due date for submission of the master plan was June 20, adding that the focus was on the mapping of Gwanda.
He has also set up a Mayor Advisory Board composed of various stakeholders including former mayors, residents, pastors and the business community to assist him in decisionmaking.
“The engagement with residents is a positive one, we have an open door policy for our full council meetings,” Moyo said.
He said all councillors in Gwanda were ordered to establish complaints books where residents could write their grievances during ward feedback meetings.
“The book should be handed over to my office after the meetings so that we can sign it as a way of taking note of the resident’s complaints,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gwanda Progressive Residents Association’s Methuseli Moyo has acknowledged improvement in the way council affairs are being handled.
He said they expected invitations to council meetings to be extended to government departments.
“We have no complaints about the mayor. He is accessible but there is no co-ordination between the residents and the council management.
“We expect to have all stakeholders during a council meeting that include the government department. We have written letters to council management concerning our grievances but this has always hit a dead end. The mayor is always trying to make things work but there is no improvement,’’ Moyo said.