By Correspondent
Former Education Minister David Coltart could become the new Bulawayo Mayor if things go according to plan for CCC.
Coltart is allegedly set to contest for the Bulawayo Ward 5 seat against incumbent Tawanda Ruzive.
Currently, he is a Senator and the CCC leadership want him to become the Bulawayo Mayor is he wins.
Commenting, sources said Coltart, who has already been nominated, will face Ruzive and others in the next stage of the internal party process.
“The main coordinators in the province are analyzing the lists and they will make recommendations.
“The final lists will be prepared and sent back to the constituencies where people will then vote and select the preferred candidate,” she said.
All opposition councilors in Bulawayo have switched to CCC save for one, Silas Chigora.
Chigora has remained with MDC-T under Senator Douglas Mwonzora.
This has has created stiff competition among those who want to get to Town House.
In 2018 Tawanda Ruzive was elected to Ward 6 Bulawayo Municipality under MDC Alliance, with 2206 votes.
He defeated Cicilia Mapolisa of Zanu PF with 1360 votes and Priscilla Burke of MDC-T with 591 votes.
Tenure As Education Minister
However, the emergence of Coltart provides a new angle to the contest.
Coltart distinguished himself as Education Minister through various initiatives that restorer a tottering sector.
Again, he established a transition fund that allowed Western donors and governments to bypass Zimbabwe’s government and help finance the education system directly.
He also managed to break a domestic textbook publishing cartel – three Zimbabwean companies that colluded to make windfall profits.
Under Coltart, the United Nations Children’s Fund held an international tender and the cost of books came down to 70 cents from five dollars.
Resultantly, textbook ratio fell to 1-to-1, from 15-to-1 and became one of the best in Africa.