No room for differences

GUTU South Member of Parliament, Pupurai Togarepi, wants the incoming Gutu
Rural District councillors to discard the political differences, evident during the just-
ended harmonised elections and form a unified approach focused on equitable
development of the district.
Addressing the 53 councillors, who took their oath of office at the council offices at
Mupandawana last week, Togarepi who together with his Gutu East counterpart,
Benjamin Ganyiwa, were part of stakeholders who witnessed the swearing-in
ceremony.
He said political differences no longer have room in their new offices as it impedes
development of their wards and the district.
As councillors, your political affiliations or parties are no longer an issue now. What
is now at stake is delivering the mandate the electorate entrusted you with – that is
being able to deliver the development they so much crave for.
“Unity of purpose is now called for and we do not expect to see differences based on
ruling or opposition party politics. You are expected to be councillors who have the
development of not only their wards but the district at heart, Togarepi suggested.
Calling on the District Development Co-ordinators office, which oversees and
advises on the running of the local authorities , to keep an eagle's eye on council
operations, Togarepi said the district resources and funding should be equitably
distributed among all the wards in the district to ensure no place and no one is left
behind.
He said council staff and committee chairpersons and their teams working in
conjunction with the DDC’s office, should curb favouritism towards certain councillors
and wards and give equal and fair attention to all.
"A development lag in a certain part of the district paints negatively on the rest of the
district. Your role goes beyond your ward, ensuring that the district is equitably
serviced," he said, adding that the district should feed meaningfully into the
development of the nation, starting at ward level.
With the district renowned for having united leadership that has scored a number of
successes, Togarepi said they expect councillors to follow the same footsteps, with
those who decide to go solo, certain to meet their fate.
The swearing-in ceremony was preceded by a two-day induction workshop
conducted by the parent Ministry of Local Government at Bikita PSC Training
Centre.

Togarepi commended the Councillors for having exhibited peace and unity of
purpose from the induction to the swearing-in ceremony with no negative incidences
reported.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Council committees were elected starting with the
chairperson and deputy. Elected into the chairing position was Councillor Charles
Mannie of Gutu South, who held the vice-chairman post in the outgoing Council.
Councillor Jane Cheuka of Gutu East becomes the vice-chairperson.
Committee chairpersons and their deputies for the seven Committees namely:
Finance; Human Resources; Community Service; Agriculture and Natural
Resources; Roads Works and Planning; Audit; and Town Board were also elected
with the rest of the councillors distributed among the committees.
Gutu has 41 elected councillors, 10 each from Gutu East, West, South and 11 from
Central with the other 12 coming from the newly introduced women's
quota/proportional representation, bringing the total to 53.
Of the 41 elected councillors, nine are females. Zanu PF holds 39 elective seats and
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has two seats one in urban Mupandawana and
one in rural Serima. The opposition used to hold one rural and two urban seats in the
previous council. In total the ruling party has 47 councillors and CCC six. – ZIS