By Correspondent
Bulawayo councilors have blamed ZANU PF activists operating under the Vendors for ED banner for the recent chaos in the city.
Speaking recently at a full council, Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Mlandu Ncube said the activists fuelled skirmishes and illegal drugs.
“I don’t think you can fight back for selling tomatoes.
“Thus where there is a hub for drugs in the city, that is where most of the illegalities are taking place.
“You can’t defend a tomato with your life.
“It’s a sign that we have people, like I always say, from Salisbury trying to turn Bulawayo into Salisbury.
“As the leadership that was entrusted to protect the city, we must stand firm and protect our city because we have to leave it for another generation”.
However, Ward 9 councillor Donaldson Mabutho said the chaos was a political ploy to de-campaign sitting councilors.
“The question we should be asking is, is it the Bulawayo people or its certain people who brought their culture here?
“We are talking of individuals who are riding on politics, maybe they want to use it as a campaign tool,” said Mabutho.
The Councilors have since called for the President Mnangagwa-affiliated group to be wiped out.
Chaos in Bulawayo
On February 23 municipal officers clashed with illegal vendors whom they were trying to remove from the CBD.
In the ensuing running battles three people were injured after municipal police fired rubber bullets.
The vendors converged at Large City Hall in protest.
Zanu PF’s Bulawayo Nehanda district chairperson Josiah Mutangi addressed them.
Mutangi told the vendors to defy police and council officers and directed them to go return to their illegal zones.