Chombo directive on writing off council debt ‘irrational’ says MDC-T

By Never Kadungure | Nehanda Harare Bureau |

The MDC-T has described as ‘irrational’ attempts by Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo to ‘buy’ votes for his Zanu PF party by issuing a directive that councils should write off US$2 billion in debt accrued between February 2009 and June 30, 2013.

“While the MDC-T understands the plight of residents and sympathises with them for the hardships they are facing in failing to pay their bills because of mismanagement and corruption of the Zanu PF government, we note with concern the timing of Chombo’s directive,” the party said.

Since the inception of the coalition government in 2009 the problem of residents falling behind or not being able to afford taxes, levies, water, sewer, refuse and rental bills has been prominent. The Harare City Council is owed US$350 million while Bulawayo City Council some US$42 million.

The MDC-T believe Chombo’s directive for the debts to be cancelled is not genuine but a “Zanu PF campaign tool as it has realised that the people of Zimbabwe are going to punish them on 31 July for mismanaging the economy over the last 33 years.”

“If Chombo’s Monday directive was genuine, it should have been made in 2009 before the formation of the inclusive government and when the people of Zimbabwe were facing a serious cash crunch due to the hyperinflationary environment that had been brought about by Zanu PF’s scorched earth policies.

“Chombo’s directive will cripple the day to day operations of the local councils as most of the people who have highly inflated bills are senior Zanu PF officials including Chombo who owns hundreds of properties across Zimbabwe that were acquired under controversial circumstances,” the MDC-T said.

The MDC-T said it is the culture for Zanu PF officials not to pay their bills and rates and at the beginning of this year, President Mugabe and his wife Grace owed power utility ZESA US$300 000 while ministers from his party owed the power utility similar amounts.

Vice President Joice Mujuru however used an election rally in Bindura on Wednesday to insist Chombo’s directive was not an election gimmick. “The fact that the directive coincided with the elections does not mean that it’s a political gimmick,” Mujuru said.

“This is what some people said when we said we would take land. They said it was a political gimmick and they were left behind, today they are begging us wanting that same land.”

Mujuru said Chombo “took the law into consideration” and that “this is a move meant to assist our residents to come out of this mud.”

The MDC-T in response went on to detail the history of such Zanu PF promises: Read Below

“The decree by Chombo is similar to Zanu PF’s policy of 2006 when it forced retail shops to slash their prices, a directive that led to unavailability of basic commodities, closure and loss of jobs to thousands of people. 

Chombo is known for making bankrupt policies and in 2009; he refused to comply with an MDC directive to dismiss councillors from the MDC who had been fingered in corruption by the party and dismissed. 

The non-compliance on the MDC’s decision by Chombo led to Robert Mugabe regretting the decision at a rally in Chitungwiza last week. 

For years Chombo has been unnecessarily meddling in the affairs of councils that are mostly managed by the MDC to the point that service delivery such as availability of water and refuse collection has been seriously affected.

Chombo has once again proved that he is the biggest problem in local governance. 

Chombo should know that for residents to have better service delivery there is need to pay their bills, which is a source of revenue for councils and failure to do that will result in the decline of this and expose residents to diseases. 

As the MDC our position is that social services such as local governance play a critical role in a functioning society and ensure that all local authorities have technical means and resources to provide adequate water, sanitation, refuse collection, energy and better roads. 

Chombo should know that what the people of Zimbabwe need are not populist policies but jobs and a service oriented local council. People need the provision of affordable service delivery which is an imperative in the next MDC government’s overall development agenda.”