Gweru residents urged to demand accountability from council

03 Oct, 2021 - 00:10 0 Views
Gweru residents urged to demand accountability from council

The Sunday News

Locadia Mavhudzi, Midlands Correspondent
RESIDENTS in Gweru have been urged to track council operations as part of their obligations and rights in order for them to make reasonable demands from the local authority.

The Constitution and the Decentralisation and Devolution Policy recognises citizens as promoters of local democracy through performing a watchdog role over elected and non-elected leadership. The call came out at a Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development constituency indaba held in Gweru recently.

Zimcodd campaigns manager Ms Angela Mandoreba said residents should take time to understand and analyse audit reports so that they follow up councils to address irregularities.

“Public sector audits are a tool for residents to keep track of any irregularities within local authorities and inform them on the right time to call the shots. Residents must actively push for local authorities to observe recommendations made by Auditor-General Mildred Chiri, in her 2019 audit report,” she said.

The 2019 Auditor-General report exposed massive malpractices among local authorities, with some said to be operating without key policy documents, a practice which promotes corruption and undercuts service delivery.

Gweru City Council did not have critical documents such as records of stands sold. Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association director, Mr Cornelia Selipiwe said they will continue to engage council to improve on transparency on the use of funds.

“Our council needs to understand the role of residents and engage them accordingly. On so many projects we only hear about them upon completion. No engagement and planning together. The voice of residents is often ignored even when the council is embarking on a good project,” he said.

He said they were saddened by the council’s failure to address financial irregularities every year.

“We continually put across recommendations through budget consultations but they seem to be falling on deaf ears.

When we demand information pertaining to even internal audits, it takes a long time for the council to release such critical information.”

An ongoing campaign to improve access to information is expected to improve transparency and accountability in the running of local authorities.

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