The Government has noted with concern the growing tendency by local authorities of not prioritising investment in refuse collection.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga said this when he spoke at President Mnangagwa’s interaction with local authorities in Harare yesterday.
The interaction, said VP Chiwenga, a first of its kind since the attainment of independence, which brought together all 92 local authorities and the President under one roof as they shared notes on critical issues in the local governance sector.
This is in line with President Mnangagwa’s inclusivity of leaving no one and no place behind in the development of the country as it journeys towards the attainment of an upper middle income society by 2030.
“The current state of affairs in our cities and towns is deplorable. Zimbabweans are known to be proud, but how can we be with this state of affairs we see today,” said VP Chiwenga.
“Now we are seeing garbage everywhere and people throwing litter from moving vehicles. We note with concern that councils are no longer prioritising investment in refuse collection.
“Service delivery is key to socio-economic development hence the need to put our heads together from our different political backgrounds and draw proper measures to improve service delivery and livelihoods of our people for the Zimbabwe that we all want.
“If we maintain this synergy as you have demonstrated today, the attainment of targets set in the NDS1, and consequently vision 2030. The interaction is aimed at getting solutions in order to address service delivery challenges within local authorities.
“The initiative of bringing all local authorities together resonates well with the President’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind. It is indeed a true testimony of the thrust of total inclusivity and openness reposed on our President. This event has been accorded an appropriate platform to ensure proposals by local authorities are accorded priority by Government, ministries, departments and agencies,” said VP Chiwenga.
Herald
