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EXCESSIVE load-shedding, water shortages, uncollected refuse, potholes, poor public lighting, overgrown grass in public places, poor drainage systems, poor education and health services all describe Harare, our beloved city. It goes without saying that the title “Sunshine City” no longer finds applicability to the capital city. Service delivery is bad and among the offenders is Zesa and the city council.
Residents continue to suffer silently as this scenario continues. It appears that service providers have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the problems residents face. Regardless of the area, communities continue to bear the brunt of this collapsed system. Consequently, meaningful community development has been retarded and Zimbabwe’s hope of realising the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remains a far-fetched dream.
There have been cholera outbreaks in the past and a recent typhoid outbreak bearing testimony of the need for reform in service delivery. This change, however, cannot be realised if communities are silent. Can the whole city be held back by a minority?
There have been talk of trying to come up with strategies to deal with overgrown grass, the congestion that characterises our roads, ghost workers and the flawed billing system at Rowan Martin now labelled “Rotten” Martin.
However there is little or nothing that has been done about it. It appears that there are just good resolutions that remain unimplemented.
Through bills, paid either to council or Zesa, residents finance service provision. At the end of it all they are getting the short end of the stick. Surely, after paying for a service one would expect to see improvements in the quality of services offered.
Budgets are crafted with limited community participation. There is a sour relationship between residents and service providers, a situation that is detrimental to the development of the city as it leads to boycott in rates payment and in some cases vandalism of infrastructure as a sign of frustration by residents.
Some residents have given up on the payment of rates an unfortunate development since ratepayers must pay their dues. The city council and Zesa should establish the cause of such conduct and address the problems with urgency.
How long will we go on complaining about poor service delivery without action to address the situation? It is time to say no to inefficiency.
This crisis will not be addressed if we do not take an active interest in challenging the oppressive systems of the day. As residents of Harare, let us demand transparency and accountability from service providers by using the strength that we have.
We need to hold politicians and service providers accountable for their actions and this begins now.
Simbarashe Majamanda,
Harare Residents Trust.
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