The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has expressed confidence that it will meet the deadlines that were set by The Call of Action local authorities blueprint with various strategies that address its components already under implementation by the local authority.
President Mnagnagwa launched the blueprint in November last year, marking the first stage of interventions to mordernise the operations of local authorities towards Vision 2030.
Speaking at the inaugural “call to action” Bulawayo local authority meeting with stakeholders on Tuesday, Bulawayo Mayor Senator David Coltart said the local authority is already in the process of implementing various strategies which speak to the needs of the blue print.
“Some of the city’s interventions will include the modernisation and renewal of information communication technology to enhance online services and implementation and intensification of the credit control and debt management policy to address the ballooning debt. In line with its vision of a leading smart and transformative city by 2024, the city of Bulawayo is also championing the installation of clean alternative power sources to reduce power outages and network challenges to avoid interruption of revenue collection services during power outages.
“The intervention strategies also address spatial planning development challenges which include the delays in approval of plans resulting in delays in the implementation of development projects. The city is already making efforts to address the challenges of spatial planning with the closure of fifth avenue for a short period to accommodate cleaning of the area, demarcation of bays, and construction of safe working spaces and allocation of vending bays,” said Sen Coltart.
He said the city of Bulawayo is in the process of allocating the vending bays in the area and informal traders will be moved to the site as soon as the rehabilitation works are completed.
Speaking at the same occasion, the City’s Town Planning Director Mr Wisdom Siziba said in view of the strategies that the City of Bulawayo is currently implementing, they are confident as a City that they will meet the deadlines as outlined in the call of action by President Mnangagwa.
“In his Clarion call on Call to Action: -No Compromise to Service Delivery, President Mnangagwa directed all local authorities to have operative master plans, as starting place, by June 2024 as development and abiding by a master plan is key to the sound management of every local authority. It enables the local authority to develop to its full potential. As such BCC prepared its first master plan in 1980 which was approved in 1980.
The first master plan was reviewed in year 2000 and operational period was 15 years. It became operative on 25 June 2004. Currently the city is awating the ministerial approval of the review of the Bulawayo Master Plan (2019-2034). Submitted 12 October 2022,” said Mr Siziba.
Turning to other components, Mr Siziba said town planning and land management department had already been established in 2021 while progress had been done on the general revaluation of the Valuation roll amongst other implementations.
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