Home » Mavaza: CCC Harare Council Showing Serious Anti ED Signs, Cry For Rufaro Stadium
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Mavaza: CCC Harare Council Showing Serious Anti ED Signs, Cry For Rufaro Stadium

By Dr Masimba Mavaza | City Councillors,the Members of Parliament board members, financial advisers, and other professionals are bound by a principle called “fiduciary duty,” in which they are required to act in the best interests of the people they swore to serve or institutions they are serving.

It the honest hope of every Zimbabwean that elected government representatives would be bound by a similar principle–that they would put the country’s interests firsts, even if those interests conflicted with their personal desire to gain more power or get re-elected. When it comes to the opposition councillors and Members of Parliament
this principle–if it ever existed–has been thrown out the window. The political actors in the City council and parliament act for their own political gain. They oppose any development so that there will be no progress or development so that the wreath of the people be turned against the ruling party. This is pure sabotage and it is more visible towards elections. Basically there are three types of sabotage which are destruction, inaction, wastage which is meant to tickle the anger of people into rebellion. This a total abuse of the people and the people must see beyond such daylight witchcraft being practiced by the opposition councils.

These opposition officials are doing everything they can to ensure that the economy remains a mess when it comes time for the 2023 election. Their hope here, is that Zimbabweans will vote with their wallets in 2023 and, in so doing, vote more Ruling party councillors and Members of Parliament out of office.

Now, there’s no question that voters do vote with their wallets: The deteriorating state of infrastructure and economy in 2008 helped MDC get elected into the GNU. And there’s nothing wrong with stumping for policies that you honestly believe will help the country over the long term, even if you think they will cause some short-term pain. But there’s a big difference between that and intentionally doing things that will sabotage the economy over the next 12 months just to influence the next election.This is actually what some Republicans are doing, Zimbabweans of all parties should be outraged. The first loyalty of any elected representative should be acting in the best interests of the country., and advocating policies that you know will hurt the country–or stonewalling ones that will help it–is a gross dereliction of professional and civic responsibility.

Zimbabwe is a soccer loving nation and the population loves soccer with a passion.
While soccer is popular in virtually every country on the planet, some countries are most fervent about it than others.
When most people think about countries crazy about soccer, Zimbabwe is always near the top of the list. Despite the fact that our men’s national team is consistently ranked in the fifties Zimbabweans can not be separated from Soccer.
Now the political situation has rewarded the opposition with the running of our towns. The CCC led councils have failed to promote football and have dismally failed to maintain the stadiums. The council especially the Harare council have neglected the Rufaro stadium. The stadium which is the symbol of Zimbabwean love of football has been allowed to deteriorate and now it resembles the dog’s breakfast.
An unrelenting opposition vociferously attacked Elder Kudakwashe Tagwirei over the rehabilitation of Rufaro stadium leading to Tagwirei withdrawing the offer to develop the stadium.
The opposition, including the independent councillors resorted to provocative sloganeering, calling Kuda Tagwirei who has offered to renovate the stadium and put it to the FIFA standard a ” (thief) instead of embracing his patriotic move.The CCC is playing politics with development. This is where someone acts for personal or political gain at the demise of set principles. This is being practiced by the opposition councillors in Harare. They are too concerned about the benefits they will get out of their action or inaction, and their deeds will be aimed at promoting their beneficial motivation. Playing politics by the CCC COUNCILLORS in many ways has affected economic growth and sway development priorities. This in itself has limited growth. The slow pace of growth is now used by the opposition as proof of inefficiency on the part of ZANU PF.  Playing politics has swayed priorities. The city fathers who are mostly CCC opposition have put their cronies in key position of Council so they can facilitate their masters (politicians’) agendas.If someone intends to benefit by playing politics, you will expect the end result of any change to be bad. There are often political factors involved in why our councils remain poor, and one of those is bad governance by the opposition in our Towns. Councillors need to do lots of things to encourage development – they need to build and maintain infrastructure, and raise and spend finance wisely, on the right projects. When councils are inept at managing infrastructure, development is impossible. Nobody wants to build a factory in a city where the land is owned by scrupulous councillors or the power could go out at any time. They also need to set up their byelaws and business practices in a way that encourages investment and initiative, that protect businesses and individuals legally, and that honour property rights, contracts and copyrights. But the way the council is doing, Harare has lost a golden opportunity to develop football and sports in Zimbabwe. Tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei through his company Sakunda Holdings wanted to develop Rufaro Stadium for the benefit of football but the Harare City Council refused, Mayor Jacob Mafume who has no clue of what he is doing led his councillors to throw away the golden opportunity presented to them by Tagwirei.
The company on Tuesday announced that it had withdrawn its offer to renovate the stadium over what it said was lack of political will to implement the project by the City of Harare. Their complaint is correct.

It is not far fetched that the City fathers wanted to act corruptly and Tagwirei saw through their evil thoughts. If you have ever lived in a where corruption is rife, you will know how frustrating, dis-heartening and fundamentally dis-empowering corruption can be. Red tape being created by the CCC is where real endemic corruption happens – a slowing and over-complicating of simple processes, from starting businesses, buying or selling property, to the law courts, all require ridiculous amounts of paperwork, interviews, visits to ministry offices. It is surprising how long does it take to clinch a deal with the city council. Every procedure is an opportunity to extract a bribe. The slower the standard processes, the greater the temptation to pay ‘speed money’.’

Imagine having to bribe your telephone company and all your utility companies, paying an aside for your driver’s license and to pass your exams. Imagine having to bribe the post office every time you bought something by mail order, bribing the bank clerk to let you take money out of your own account, paying your doctor to give you a prescription, and then the chemist to give it to you. That’s the reality of endemic corruption, the abuse of power at every level. It takes strong leadership to fight it, but it can be done. Even simple trading with council is heavily resisted. whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world and hence the world itself.’
The city Councils are the local government. Local government bears the greatest part of the responsibility for care and conservation of our historic environment, largely because of its importance to the planning system. Rufaro stadium has its importance and has occupied its historical seat in the historical arena. It is this important stadium which the CCC council are refusing to maintain and bring it to standard. But our football legacy and heritage is in the hands of the proud but useless party CCC.

In a letter to Mafume, Sakunda Holdings Chief Operating Officer Charles Chitambo said the move was also necessitated by “untruthful and malicious (reports) that Sakunda intends to purchase Rufaro Stadium”.
“Following our numerous unsuccessful requests to present to your office our final feasibility to study report and proposed designs for the refurbishment of Rufaro Stadium, we write to express our gravest misgivings on the unfortunate events and communications emanating from your (HCC) office.
“We are shocked and disturbed by untruthful and malicious (reports) that Sakunda intends to purchase Rufaro Stadium, which is a public asset. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we believe you know that.

“The unfounded allegations are grounded on malice and a coordinated attempt to curtail our efforts to contribute to the revival and modernisation of public infrastructure,” reads part of the statement,” read the letter.”
It has become CCC culture of accusing people in order to scuttle progress.

It is the same council and the same mayor who threw spammers in the Pomona project with the aim of scuttling development CCC is again responsible for scuttling revamp of Rufaro stadium. When Sakunda wants to do a major facelift they play politics. People must vote wisely.

Zimbabwe is all suffering because people voted without thinking Harare is derelict because people vote stone throwers into Council and not technocrats ED is an infrastructure person and Harare will become a construction zone if we vote ZANU-PF. council started a crusade of demonising the CEO of Pomona project Dilish Nguwaya and left his character bruised. But because Nguwaya believed in his project and it’s benefit to the people the government had to accept the project. As we read this article Pomona project is taking shape. This is the very project which was demonised and tainted by the council and some Members of Parliament.

Sacrifice takes people through a rough journey. The minister of local government Honourable July Moyo for his vision and belief in Pomona project he was bundled together with Nguwaya and dragged in the mud and dirty in the public eye. It was that sacrifice the people now see the work Pomona is doing.
Now Tagwirei is being tied to the end of the rope and being flogged all because he was advocating for the renovation of the Rufaro stadium. We have saboteurs among us. They are dressed in yellow.

The council indeed lacks the political will to overcome inequality hindering sustainable development for all in Harare. This should be a reason to vote them out come 2023. Inequality is a universal challenge faced by least-developed, middle-income and developed countries alike, but which can be overcome by political will at personal, local government and national levels.

Lack of a political will within and among CCC councillors pose an immense challenge to national development efforts.
Large disparities in income, wealth, power and opportunity plague our work for progress, both internationally and nationally, so do also large gaps in access to education, healthcare, water, sanitation, food, energy, and social protection all this which can be changed by the local government.

For us to uphold the basic promise of the ZANU PF agenda to leave no one behind –we must reach those furthest behind first, and remove the councillors who are motivated by party politics not national interest.

Lack of patriotism harms economic growth and poverty reduction. It undermines social cohesion and undermines people’s sense of fulfillment and self-esteem. Partisan politics worsens the quality of relations in the public and political spheres. It stymies potential in human beings. And it wastes a lot of talent.
We need to vote these people out this 2023.

Yet, there is nothing inevitable about growing sabotage by the CCC.

Development is strongly affected by policymaking, by public office and by pressure from leaders.

“Where the political will exists, much can be done to address it.

We as Zimbabweans must take a concrete step to contain or reduce inaction by councillors and their Mayor, including debt restructuring and prudent fiscal stimulus, made easier today not least by your vote for a bright future.

Let us recognize that inaction is not just a statistic or a value-free measure of economic activity,” as political partisan and inequality are increasingly harmful, sowing the seeds of division, pushing societies towards polarization and fracture. Given the numerous ways in which a local authority influences general behaviour towards our heritage assets it is of obvious importance that it adheres to principles of best practice in the conservation of its own properties and sets the standard in integrating that conservation into sustainable development in the management of its own estate.

Rufaro stadium has been left rotting for a long time. It is high time it is uplifted. Stop playing politics. Develop the infrastructures.

Source : Zimeye

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