By Staff writer
GWERU urban member of parliament, Josiah Makombe has come to the defense of urban local authorities saying they are not to blame for the service delivery challenges currently experienced in most cities and towns.
He said this during a post-election interface between women councilors and the media in Gweru recently, where he stressed that not even the current crop of councillors in Gweru can solve the challenges the city is facing.
The Midlands capital is currently experiencing a myriad of challenges, chief among them failure to provide water to its residents where some only get the precious liquid once a week.
Gweru City Council (GCC) still depends on water reticulation infrastructure inherited from the colonial era.
The water pipes are rustic and obsolete and often broken down, thereby affecting water supply.
And the former Gweru mayor blamed the government for creating these problems due to its failure to invest in infrastructure.
“A dummy has been sold to residents and they believe it is the responsibility of these guys(councillors) to develop infrastructure,” he said.
“But it is the role of the central government to cater for the current and future generations in terms of availing infrastructure not the city fathers’ responsibility.”
Makombe tore into the government for taxing its citizens into poverty saying most Zimbabweans are struggling under the burden of heavy taxes.
“As a representative of the people it is painful to see that pensioners are taxed to death, the same people were taxed during their youthful days, which I think I not fair,” he added.
