Gweru Town House. Picture: S. SCHOULTZ
A SECTION of the 19-member council has teamed up with management to shut out Hamutendi Kombayi in decision-making processes in order to frustrate the mayor. With councillors and city managers now singing from the same hymn sheet in their efforts to sideline Kombayi, there is little oversight role still being exercised by the councillors on behalf of the residents.
Sources within council say the chairperson of the finance committee, Albert Chirau and ward 10 councillor, Charles Chikozho, are leading the resistance against Kombayi in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) dominated council. Chirau, according to sources, harbours ambitions of becoming mayor while Chikozho who was the MDC–T’s preferred candidate for the mayoral position is still bitter after being outfoxed by Kombayi, son of the late Patrick Kombayi a political stalwart in the city.
Those against Kombayi have so far succeeded in stripping the Gweru mayor of his signing powers. This was after Kombayi had refused to allow councillors to claim overnight allowances when they visited the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo in May. This riled the councillors most of whom are not gainfully employed and see council allowances as a source of livelihood.The decision by Kombayi also riled management who were used to claiming hefty allowances.
With Kombayi no longer having any signing powers, councillors are milking council dry, in connivance with management. Council’s bill for allowances averaged US$65 000 when management was signing for travel and subsistence allowances. But the figure had declined to almost half when Kombayi assumed the responsibility. Now, the figure has since ballooned to around US$60 000 for the month of June following the stripping of Kombayi’s signing powers.
Kombayi confirmed that there is a rift between him and some councillors and said the latter were breaking the law in their bid to oust him from his position. “Councillors are breaking council rules in order to achieve some of their selfish interests. For instance, the resolution stopping me to sign for travel and subsistence allowance was not done in good faith because the manner it was done was not procedural.
“The issue was swept under the carpet because management also did not want me to sign for the allowances. This is tantamount to stealing from ratepayers because they are using their power to steal from council coffers,” Kombayi said. However, Chikozho and Chirau dismissed the mayor’s assertions that he was stripped of his powers unprocedurally as “childish.”
“That line of thinking is primitive and childish. The young man (Kombayi) needs to do a self-introspection and put his feet on the ground. If he thinks the decision was not procedural, then he is free to appeal using proper procedures,” said Chirau. Chikozho said his motion had been supported by the majority of councillors describing its endorsement as an affirmation that councillors had taken the correct position. Efforts to get comment from the city’s town clerk, Daniel Matawu were fruitless as he was said to be in a meeting. — Own Correspondent.
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