The Sunday News
THE roles of a councillor in Local Government include representing the local area or ward and the people who live in it, community leadership, engagement and support, developing and reviewing council policy, regulatory, quasi-judicial and statutory duties, among others. Councillors are at the core of community leadership, which is at the heart of modern Local Government.
“They work in partnership with local communities and organisations — including the public, voluntary, community and private sectors — to develop a vision for their local area, working collaboratively to improve services and quality of life for citizens. Councillors have a lead role in this process,” says an online blog.
There is a lot that is expected from councillors, especially in towns and cities where service delivery is at the core of their key performance area. However, service delivery has been deteriorating in towns and cities across the country, with councillors from opposition political parties forming the majority of councillors.
One of the issues that have been raised by residents is rampant corruption, where councillors have sought to enrich themselves through underhand deals while in office. The other thorny issue has been the calibre of people elected into office. The trend over the years has been that people vote for political parties and do not necessarily scrutinise the candidates brought forward by their political parties, hence some people with questionable credentials have been voted into office. Unlike in the past, anyone can contest to become a councillor even if they are not a ratepayer or property owner. This, according to the residents’ association, has opened the room to “chancers”.
Bulawayo United Residents’ Association
Speaking to our sister publication Chronicle last week, Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairman Mr Winos Dube queried the logic behind privileges for councillors at the expense of other residents. He said only property owners should be councillors as this will lessen the burden of having “chancers”.
“One thing that we ask from the Government and ministry’s level is why are they offering those privileges. For instance, the privilege of a residential stand, what we have been advocating for is that there should be a qualification for one to be a councillor. You must be someone who already has property and you have an interest in providing development. As it stands, any person can rise from the streets to become a councillor, not because they want to contribute positively to the development of the city but because they would be chasing after these packages of a residential stand and a commercial stand.”
Former Bulawayo Councillor Alderman David Ndlovu, who served in council between 1991 and 2003 said during their time it was unheard of to hear that a councillor had benefited from the local authority apart from their allowances. Alderman Ndlovu shared Mr Dube’s sentiments that being a councillor was community service.
“We were in council to serve the public, not to benefit from resources that were meant to serve the public. We were going to the council to provide voluntary work. The only thing that we used to get were allowances. If something like that (getting land) was even suggested, it was called corruption and you will discover that most people who became councillors already had their properties,” said Alderman Ndlovu.
The concerns from residents and ratepayers all point to a poor calibre of councillors, who rose into prominence just from being part of opposition party politics and not on their skills and capabilities. It is therefore important that councillors look themselves in the mirror and decide if they want to serve communities or they want to enrich themselves. If they want to enrich themselves, they better try other business avenues.
