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Ugandan opposition candidate Bobi Wine has rejected the results declared so far and calls himself the president-elect, despite the electoral body saying not all votes have yet been counted. Bobi Wine alleges Thursday's polls saw the worst vote-rigging in Uganda's history, but did not provide any evidence to back up his claims. He declared the struggle is just beginning. Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, says he'll address the press again in a few hours on the way forward. Early results from the electoral commission give the incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, a commanding lead of almost two-thirds of the votes so far counted. The military have surrounded Bobi Wine’s house. - BBC
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
Uganda, twice the size of Pennsylvania, is in East Africa. It is bordered on the west by Congo, on the north by the Sudan, on the east by Kenya, and on the south by Tanzania and Rwanda. The country, which lies across the equator, is divided into three main areas—swampy lowlands, a fertile plateau with wooded hills, and a desert region. Lake Victoria forms part of the southern border.
Multiparty democractic republic.
About 500 B.C. Bantu-speaking peoples migrated to the area now called Uganda. By the 14th century, three kingdoms dominated, Buganda (meaning state of the Gandas), Bunyoro, and Ankole. Uganda was first explored by Europeans as well as Arab traders in 1844. An Anglo-German agreement of 1890 declared it to be in the British sphere of influence in Africa, and the Imperial British East Africa Company was chartered to develop the area. The company did not prosper financially, and in 1894 a British protectorate was proclaimed. Few Europeans permanently settled in Uganda, but it attracted many Indians, who became important players in Ugandan commerce.
Uganda became independent on Oct. 9, 1962. Sir Edward Mutesa, the king of Buganda (Mutesa II), was elected the first president, and Milton Obote the first prime minister, of the newly independent country. With the help of a young army officer, Col. Idi Amin, Prime Minister Obote seized control of the government from President Mutesa four years later.
On Jan. 25, 1971, Colonel Amin deposed President Obote. Obote went into exile in Tanzania. Amin expelled Asian residents and launched a reign of terror against Ugandan opponents, torturing and killing tens of thousands. In 1976, he had himself proclaimed President for Life. In 1977, Amnesty International estimated that 300,000 may have died under his rule, including church leaders and recalcitrant cabinet ministers.
After Amin held military exercises on the Tanzanian border in 1978, angering Tanzanias president, Julius Nyerere, a combined force of Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles loyal to former president
Bharrat Jagdeo
The PPP/C has emerged the winner of March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections following the national recount of the final ballot box (#4877) from Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica).
The recount was witnessed by representatives of all the nine (9) political parties that contested the elections, including observers from Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of American States (OAS), and local observers including the Private Section Commission and American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM).
Following a High Court’s decision, Mingo was ordered to revert to the prescribed procedure but he submitted totals that varied substantially from those of other parties and had the APNU/AFC ahead rather than the PPPC.
Retired Justice Claudette Singh, Chairwoman of GECOM, agreed to a recount of the all votes, which had been proposed by caretaker President David Granger and agreed to by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo after an intervention by several Caricom leaders.
As the recount process wound down, voices from the domestic and international community – local Church leaders, the Private Sector Commission, the US State Department, Ambassadors of the US, EU, UK, Caricom, OAS have been calling for an acceptance of the recount by all the parties leading to a peaceful transition for the new government that has been chosen by the people of Guyana.
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has asked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to report the state agency to the police if the party has any evidence to back its election rigging allegations made against the Authority on Thursday, 14 May 2020.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), at a press conference, raised fears that the decision of the Electoral Commission to compile a new register of voters using passports and the NIA's Ghana card as proof of eligibility may give undue advantage to the governing New Patriotic Party and President Nana Akufo-Addo and also help the incumbent to rig the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2020.
According to the biggest opposition party, over 10 million Ghanaians are unable to retrieve their Ghana cards from the NIA several months after they were registered, a situation which the Chairman of the party, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, said will make it impossible for them to be captured on the new electoral roll.
At a counter-press conference on Friday, 15 May 2020, the Executive Director of the NIA, Prof Ken Attafuah, said it was a \"disturbing allegation that the NIA, in consent with the Electoral Commission, embarked on an election-rigging agenda in order to benefit the New Patriotic Party, and most disturbingly, to disenfranchise a significant portion of the Ghanaian populace from their rights to exercise their franchise\".
\"I want to assure the good people of this country that the NIA is not involved in any such criminal design or enterprise with the EC, with the government of Ghana or any with any person or entity whatsoever described.
[Ghanaian Times] The Electoral Commission (EC), yesterday inaugurated a 16-member Adjudication Committee to clean the new voters register to ensure a credible 2020 polls come December 7.
A 36-YEAR-OLD Ruwa tenant has been jailed to 18 months for forging her daughter’s birth certificate in a bid to inherit her late landlord’s estate. BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA Abigail Muchafuruka was sentenced by Marondera magistrate Ignatius Mhene, who later commuted the sentence to 420 hours of community service at Ruwa Police Station. The court heard that Muchafuruka forged her daughter’s birth certificate and submitted it in court on July 9 this year in a bid to claim a stake in her later landlord, Peter Kandawasvika’s estate. The forged document indicated that the deceased was the child’s biological father. Muchafuruka told the court that she had an affair with the late Kandawasvika, resulting in the birth of her daughter but her claims were dismissed after records at the Registrar-General’s Office revealed that the child’s original document had no father’s name. The matter came to light after the deceased’s wife noted that there was different printing on the child’s forged birth certificate. John Hama represented the State.
The Grim Reaper has taken away Burundi's healthy-looking and all-powerful President Pierre Nkurunziza just as he was to hand over power to the ruling CNDD-FDD party's 2020 election victor Evariste Ndayishimiye.
President Nkurunziza was, to all intents and purposes, not a democrat.
Gen Ndayishimiye, Nkurunziza's presumptive successor, must seize the moment to institute a new order.
Though handpicked by Nkurunziza, he must quickly shake off his predecessor's shadow and change the course of the country that has known little peace and progress since independence from the Belgians in 1962.
In the immediate run, he must wholeheartedly join the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, over which President Nkurunziza duelled with the World Health Organization, having earlier pulled Burundi out of the International Criminal Court.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA A MUTOKO man (23), who allegedly murdered his aunt accusing her of misplacing his lucky charm, and in the process also seriously injured his 80-year-old grandmother, was on Friday denied bail by Mutoko magistrate Elijah Sibanda. Piniel Tinomuda of Village 43 Hoyuyu allegedly axed to death Lizzie Madende (59) over the lucky charm that went missing. He will be back in court on October 30. His grandmother, Benhilda Nyarambi, is reportedly unconscious at Mutoko General Hospital. Court papers state that on October 13 at around 8pm, Madende was at her residence with other family members, including the suspect. Tinomuda reportedly accused Madende of misplacing his talisman which he kept in his bedroom. The accused became violent, took an axe from his bedroom and struck Madende twice. Madende died on the spot. Nyarambi reportedly pleaded with the suspect to stop axing his aunt and he turned on her and he struck twice on the neck and arm. Nyarambi fell and became unconscious. The accused also attacked Madende’s two children who fled from the scene. After realising that he had committed a serious crime, the accused fled and hid in a nearby mountain. A report was made at Janhi Police Base, resulting in a manhunt being launched. The suspect was arrested from his hiding place. Nyarambi, who is admitted at Mutoko District Hospital, is in a critical condition. Nathan Majuru represented the State
President Paul Kagame’s condolence message to Burundians following the death of the outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza marked his first public message to the country since relations between Rwanda and Burundi turned sour in 2015.
“The government of Rwanda wishes to congratulate the newly elected president of Burundi, Maj-Gen Evariste Ndayishimiye and takes this opportunity to express her willingness to improve the historical relationship that exists between the two brother countries,” the statement from Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation said.
Rwanda has since desisted from commenting on Burundian politics, which experts argue is aimed at not causing tensions with Tanzania — which is not just a strong political ally of Burundi, but also a strong trade ally of Rwanda’s.
“President Nkurunziza’s successor will most likely continue the political line of the ruling party, which for long has been in open conflict with the government of Rwanda.
But there is a chance, as we have seen before in politics, that a new president can develop their own different personality and prefer to pursue or implement reforms that can bring about better relations with neighbours,” Charles Kabwete, Associate Professor of History at the University of Rwanda told The EastAfrican.
By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE A SELF-PROCLAIMED Bindura prophetess Spiwe Gwashure (40) of Grace in Abundance Ministries was sentenced to two months in jail yesterday by Bindura provincial magistrate Tinashe Ndokera for fraud. Gwashure was ordered to pay the US$320 which she had taken from one of her congregants, Abina Maliwo (46), on the pretext that she would find him a wife to marry. Prosecutor Edward Katsvairo told the court that sometime in April 2018, the prophetess gave a prophecy to the complainant, saying she would find him a good wife to marry. In July last year, Gwashure called Maliwo to come to her house and told him that she had found a wife for him in Guruve and there was need for him to pay the bride price. The complainant raised US$320 in two months and was supposed to get his wife in October 2019.He was ordered to buy a cellphone for his intended wife and he complied for easy communication. The wife did not appear and in November, he figured out that he had been duped after he spoke to Gwashure on a mobile phone that he bought assuming that he was speaking to his intended wife. He filed a police report leading to her arrest.The magistrate ordered a full compensation of the money within two months.
All Ugandans aged six years and above will be given free face masks in a bid to protect themselves against the coronavirus, President Yoweri Museveni has said.
\"This mask must be worn all the time when you are in public.
Since many people raised the issue that they cannot afford these masks, the government has decided to provide these masks to all Ugandans (aged) six years and above,\" Mr Museveni said in a televised address.
At the same time, President Museveni said that public transport will resume on June 2, 2020 after all Ugandans get face masks.
This will require you to wear a proper mask,\" Mr Museveni said.
THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has reportedly refused to restore water supplies to Binga Rural District Council until the local authority has paid at least $300 000 of its $1,5 million debt. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE Zinwa cut off water supplies to Binga in September, forcing residents and business operators to turn to boreholes and other unsafe water sources. Binga Residents Association vice-chairperson Samson Sibanda said Zinwa recently met council officials and indicated that it would restore water supplies after the local authority has paid at least $300 000 towards settling the bill. “We met and agreed on the way forward for water to be reopened. Council is the one that owes Zinwa money and not the residents. For water to be reopened Zinwa said they require at least $300 000 from the council,” Sibanda said. “Residents of Masoja area who are affected by the water cut started to protest and demonstrate saying they had been paying council and the issue has to be resolved immediately.” Binga district development co-ordinator Farai Marinyame confirmed that stakeholders met on Wednesday to try to resolve the crisis. “I was not on the ground, but there was a meeting between Zinwa, residents and the council to solve the ongoing water crisis. For now there is still no water as council is still negotiating with Zinwa so that they take that project,” Marinyame said. “The main problem is that residents are not paying up.” Binga RDC chief executive officer Joshua Muzamba said he was still out of Binga. “I am still out of Binga, just look for those on the ground who can give you information,” he said. Zinwa spokesperson Marjorie Munyonga, who previously pleaded with residents to pay up, yesterday said she was out of office and was yet to be briefed on the latest developments.
[DW] On October 31, Ivorians will elect a new leader. President Alassane Ouattara is running for a third controversial term. The opposition is urging supporters to shun the poll -- a political crisis appears imminent.
Reconciliation and dialogue were top of Evariste Ndayishimiye’s mind as he took oath of office on June 18, 2020 to be Burundi’s president.
In his maiden speech to the country in the political capital Gitega, President Ndayishimiye vowed to unite Burundians and called on citizens to shun “the colonial ethnicity imposed on Burundians”.
Burundi plunged into a political crisis in 2015 after then president Pierre Nkurunziza vied for another term which the opposition believed was unconstitutional.
As the region and the world watches President Ndayishimiye navigate internal, regional and global politics, Onesphore Sematumba, the International Crisis Group analyst for the Great lakes region says that Ndayishimiye is only one man and the Nkurunziza political-military system, of which Ndayishimiye himself is also a part, is still firmly in place.
- Additional reporting by Fred Oluoch
INSIDER COMES OF AGE
As the region and the world watches President Ndayishimiye navigate internal, regional and global politics, analysts for the Great lakes region say Ndayishimiye is only one man and the Nkurunziza political-military system, of which Ndayishimiye himself is also a part, is still firmly in place.
The observers recognise that an electoral system governed by a whole series of constantly changing pieces of legislation \"responds to the outcome of political dialogue between the main parties, Renamo and Frelimo, rather than taking a holistic review of the electoral framework.\"
Stop the inclusion of fraudulent results: Under Renamo pressure, the parties agreed an electoral court system which could intervene to redress misconduct and errors by election commissions, STAEs, and polling stations.
Civil society members to be non-partisan
Members of the National Elections Commission (CNE) \"do not represent the public or private institutions or political or social institutions they come from, and defend the national interest\", says the electoral law.
For the 2008-9 elections, parliament (AR) agreed a dramatic change - a majority of CNE members, including the chair (presidente) were nominated by Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to try to force some independence and neutrality.
But this agreement between Frelimo and Renamo to select party aligned CSO members is not specified in the electoral law and clearly goes against the spirit of the law.
In its 142-page decision the seven judges in Malawi's Supreme Court of Appeal, among them the Chief Justice, Andrew Nyirenda, are unanimous in upholding the finding of the Constitutional Court: the May 2019 elections failed in their aim of 'duly electing' a new President.
That's because the country's electoral commission, commenting on the Appeal Court decision, has suggested that it might not be possible to have the new President sworn in by the court's deadline if the original re-run schedule prevails.
In fact, it would be hard to read the Appeal Court's decision as anything other than a sharp rebuke to the commission about the way it handled matters, particularly as the votes were being collected and tallied, and then again when the validity of the polls was tested in court.
The position of Malawi's courts had been that if the results were not affected by irregularities, the elections should stand.
Stating its revised position on the matter, the judges said that it would be hard for a court in Malawi to uphold an election where its conduct was 'largely compromised', especially since voting numbers in such a case could be the result of flouting electoral law.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo has said her office was reluctant to sanction charges of being a nuisance against former Makerere University Research Fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi last recently.
Counsel Walubiri had argued that it was high time the office of the DPP withdrew cases that have over stayed in the justice system like the treason case against Dr Kizza Besigye.
\"Perhaps, this is the time for the office of the DPP to weed out some files that have been pending in the criminal justice system for long as the same are clogging the system for no good reason,\" Mr Walubiri said.
DPP Abodo said she is determined to weed out undeserving cases from the justice system starting with those arrested during the ongoing lockdown.
Ms Winfred Adukule, the executive director of Freechild Uganda, urged the office of the DPP and the Judiciary not to forget about the juvenile justice in this Covid-19 lockdown.
Former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Ronald H Brown was appointed head of the Department
of Commerce by President-elect Bill Clinton, 1993
A new political entity — Jamaica Progressive Party (JPP) — has applied to the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) to be registered as Jamaica's fourth political party.
The party, said the ECJ, is now provisionally registered, having fulfilled the requirements of the Seventh Schedule of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 2014.
“The Electoral Commission is in the process of conducting investigations pertained the party's submissions and invites members of the public having probable cause, so to do, to register objections to the registration of the applicant party.
Registered political parties are eligible to contest future elections and will have their finances monitored by the ECJ.
Presently, the nation's three registered political parties are the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), the People's National Party (PNP), and the United Independents' Congress, which was registered in 2019.
THE local film industry has for long been viewed with different lenses with some analysts saying it was in intensive care unit while others perceive it to be“clinically” dead.
Somali has been elected Vice President of the 75th session of the United Nationals General Assembly, UNGA which will run for the year 2020 / 2021.
Ambassador Abukar is among 21 Vice Presidents for the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.
Somalia celebrates ‘feat’
About the Ordinary Sessions and its president
\tThe General Assembly meets annually in regular session, intensively from September to December, and resumes in January until all issues on the agenda are addressed – which often is just before the next session starts.
Since the 60th session in 2005, the President-elect of the General Assembly suggests a theme of global concern for the upcoming general debate, based on informal discussions with Member States, the President of the current session of the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General.
In September, all the Members meet in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session.
Despite seeming to have softened his stance on the Ush10 billion ($2.6 million) that Ugandan legislators allocated themselves as part of the Covid-19 supplementary budget, President Yoweri Museveni is said to have ordered an audit of the expenditure.
In a letter dated April 28 to the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, President Museveni said he instructed the Auditor-General to go over how the funds were used.
In a recent televised address on coronavirus, President Museveni described the Covid-19 cash as a trap that the MPs had laid for themselves and \"morally reprehensible.\"
Despite Speaker Kadaga's efforts to explain that MPs were to use this money to sensitise their constituents about the pandemic and for maintenance of ambulances in their constituencies, President Museveni and the Cabinet insisted the allocation was illegal and inappropriate.
As at April 12, the number of MPs that had returned the money stood at 101 out of a total of 458 legislators.
Democratic Republic of Congo: President Tshisekedi reneges on justice pledge, leaving victims in despair
\tPresident Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has reneged on his inauguration pledges to strengthen the rule of law, fight impunity and ensure justice, leaving the families of hundreds of people killed during the country’s pre-election crisis in despair, Amnesty International said today.
“President Tshisekedi and his government must acknowledge the pain that victims and their families have been enduring and publicly commit to promptly and effectively prosecute those responsible,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
Victims of 2015-2018 brutal crackdowns denied justice in the DRC, Amnesty International interviewed 115 survivors and victims’ family members, on their quest for justice.
Farcical investigations
\tUnder international pressure, former President Joseph Kabila constituted three committees to investigate the deadly crackdowns on protestors, none of which have resulted in any prosecutions.
A second committee created in February 2018 investigated the use of deadly force against protestors on 31 December 2017 and 21 January 2018, recommending prosecution of security officers who ordered or used excessive force against protestors.
Haiti, in the West Indies, occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. About the size of Maryland, Haiti is two-thirds mountainous, with the rest of the country marked by great valleys, extensive plateaus, and small plains.
Republic with an elected government.
Explored by Columbus on Dec. 6, 1492, Haitis native Arawaks fell victim to Spanish rule. In 1697, Haiti became the French colony of Saint-Dominique, which became a leading sugarcane producer dependent on slaves. In 1791, an insurrection erupted among the slave population of 480,000, resulting in a declaration of independence by Pierre-Dominique Toussaint lOuverture in 1801. Napoléon Bonaparte suppressed the independence movement, but it eventually triumphed in 1804 under Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who gave the new nation the Arawak name Haiti. It was the worlds first independent black republic.
The revolution wrecked Haitis economy. Years of strife between the light-skinned mulattos who dominated the economy and the majority black population, plus disputes with neighboring Santo Domingo, continued to hurt the nations development. After a succession of dictatorships, a bankrupt Haiti accepted a U.S. customs receivership from 1905 to 1941. Occupation by U.S. Marines from 1915 to 1934 brought stability. Haitis high population growth made it the most densely populated nation in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1949, after four years of democratic rule by President Dumarsais Estimé, dictatorship returned under Gen. Paul Magloire, who was succeeded by François Duvalier, nicknamed “Papa Doc,” in 1957. Duvaliers secret police, the “Tontons Macoutes,” ensured political stability with brutal efficiency. Upon Duvaliers death in 1971, his son, Jean-Claude, or “Baby Doc,” succeeded as ruler of the poorest nation in the hemisphere. In the early 1980s, Haiti became one of the first countries to face an AIDS epidemic. Fear of the disease caused tourists to stay away, and the tourist industry collapsed, causing
Malawi’s electoral commission appealed for “peace and calm” on Wednesday as it counted ballots following a historic poll to re-elect a president after Peter Mutharika’s victory was overturned.
Voters in Malawi went to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in just over a year after the Constitutional Court dramatically ruled that last year’s polls were fraught with “grave and widespread” irregularities.
Results from the May 2019 election sparked countrywide protest that lasted months, a rare occurrence in the impoverished southern African country.
It took the top court six months to sift through the evidence before concluding that Mutharika was not duly elected and ordered fresh elections.
The chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission, Chifundo Kachale, said tallying of the votes from 5,002 polling stations was underway.
“We appeal to Malawians to maintain peace and calm as the vote-counting continues,” Kachale told a news conference in Blantyre.
Mutharika has accused the opposition of inciting violence following isolated incidents which the police and electoral commission said had not affected the election.
“It’s obvious that the opposition is doing this,” he told reporters after voting in Blantyre, claiming some of his party monitors were “chased away, some were beaten”.
“It’s obviously people that are afraid of the will of the people that are engaging in these barbaric acts,” he alleged.
Mutharika, 79, did not take the decision of the constitutional court lightly when it overturned last year’s poll.
He accused judges of working with the opposition to steal the election through what he dubbed a “judicial coup d’etat”.
He had narrowly won the now-discredited election with 38.5 percent of the ballots, beating his closest rival Lazarus Chakwera, 65, by just 159,000 votes .
Victory in the rerun will be determined by whoever garners more than 50 percent of the votes — a new threshold set by the top court.
Some 6.8 million people were asked to vote between Mutharika, Chakwera and an underdog candidate, Peter Dominico Kuwani.
The electoral commission has until July 3 to unveil the results, although the announcement is widely thought likely to come this week.
Kachale says the commission will only announce results after dealing with all the complaints.
AFP
The by-elections for Kahawa Wendani ward in Kiambu county, Dabaso ward in Kilifi county, Kisumu North ward in Kisumu county, Wundanyi Mbale ward in Taita Taveta county and Msambweni constituency in Kilifi county were postponed after the government imposed restrictions on gatherings in measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Chebukati noted the electoral commission was working on a program which will see the elections conducted once the current COVID-19 containment measures including the dusk-to-dawn curfew and cessation of movement in five counties are scaled down.
Chebukati said IEBC will liaise with the Ministry of Health to identify best ways to conduct the elections in a COVID-19 environment which minimizes human to human contact.
\"When curfew and other activities are scaled down, we shall embark on this program and set new dates for this by-elections,\" Chebukati added.
Dabaso Ward MCA Emmanuel Changawa's lost his seat after the Court of Appeal nullified his election in November 2019 while in Kisumu, Elisha Araro resigned his seat as Kisumu North MCA to vie for County Assembly Speaker.
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has returned to court Tuesday to press President Peter Mutharika to sack Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Jane Ansah and her fellow commissioners after Parliament, the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal found them incompetent and their positions untenable.
Chilima has been accusing the head of the electoral body of misconduct and is backed by electoral stakeholders that Ansah should not preside over the fresh presidential elections.
But Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, has defiantly refused to step down.
This month Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of the High Court sitting as the Constitutional Court which found Ansah and MEC incompetent.
On April 1 2020 MEC chief elections officer Sam Alfandika told Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee that the commission wrote President Peter Mutharika to consider hiring new commissioners as the current ones' tenure is expiring on June 5.
LOCAL authorities in the country have attributed their poor service delivery record to rising inflation. Mayors Blessing Tandi (Mutare), Lovemore Maiko (Chitungwiza) and Angeline Kasiipo (Kwekwe) made the remarks during a virtual meeting on Wednesday organised by Shoko Festival. BY KENNETH NYANGANI Residents, the mayors said, should not expect miracles from them as they were being affected by the country’s poor economic performance.Tandi said his council was struggling to provide good service delivery due to the country’s tanking economy. “We don’t operate in a vacuum. If the national economy is not performing, why should you expect us to perform miracles when we have high inflation? We need a lot of money to buy water treatment chemicals,” Tandi said. “Our roads are in a poor state because we are not getting enough funds from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration. As council, we should be allowed to collect money from vehicle licences.” Maiko weighed in saying councils do not exist in isolation. He said they were also facing water challenges. “As councils, we don’t live in isolation, with the current economy you should not expect miracles from us, like what Mutare mayor Blessing Tandi has already said, we are struggling to provide service delivery because of the poor state of the economy,” he said. “Look at the rate at which inflation is going up, we also need to pay our workers competitively.” “Chitungwiza was established as a dormitory town of Harare and now has the largest urban population but we don’t have any source of water. We rely on Harare for water distribution and it’s giving us a drop in the ocean,” he said. Kasiipo also said they were failing to perform because of the moribund economy.She, however, urged residents to pay their dues. “We are urging our residents to pay rates, our collection rate is very low, so our residents need to play their part so that we provide good service delivery,” he said.
