By Correspondent
Local politics continues to degenerate in the gutter where it currently lies, always finding further room of filth to sink worse in.
This week it was the Harare City Council and Deputy Chief Secretary, Presidential Communications, George Charamba tussling over ownership for a street lights project.
Most pitiful is that the lights project is yet to be effectively rolled out. Many streets remain in darkness.
We Have Done It!
First Harare City Council produced a statement that it will be rolling out a program to put lights on various roads in the capital.
Council said it had already lighted, “Seke Road, Rekai Tangwena Street, Ganges Road, Bishop Gaul Avenue and 7th Street (Samora Machel and Tongogara)”, under a “smart street lighting project aimed at revamping the city’s lighting infrastructure.”
“The pilot project is to cover 35km of the city’s major road network and is being carried out in partnership with ZESA and Rwanda Energy Group.”
“The project will see 1202 street lights be installed, throughout the major road network in the city,” it said.
Many residents applauded Council on the move.
No You Have Not!
However, Charamba hopped in to burst the bubble claiming the project from Council, saying it’s a central government project.
“Harare residents must have marvelled at flurry of activities along major roads as the city lighting gets restored and modernised.
“I’m sure many thought all this owes to a revived Harare Municipality under Meya (sic) Mafume. Nope.
“All this activity comes from a facility negotiated by His Excellecny Presidents, Dr ED Mnangagwa, with his Rwandese counterpart, HE Paul Kagame as a result of which power utilities of the two countries secured a facility of USD800 million for ZESA.
“This is the facility which is restoring lighting services in Harare,” he said, using his social media account.
Charamba went on to accuse Harare Council, controlled by the opposition CCC, of being “disabled by maladministration and corruption as ever, with books 4 years behind by way of reporting.
The incident, with all the fine margins of what a Council or a government project is, betrays the toxic state of the politics in the country and how it has led the country to its current abject state.
The further derisive reference to ‘Meya’, in relation to Mayor Mafume betrayed the inspiration behind the supposed ‘point of correction’ by the official.
As residents continue facing challenges with service delivery issues in the capital it’s apparent from the exchange, between Council and Charamba, that residents are alone.