VP rips into ‘sleeping’ town clerk

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VICE-PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday blasted Kwekwe town clerk Emmanuel Musara for “sleeping on the job”, leaving the city to lag behind other local authorities in infrastructure development.

VICE-PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday blasted Kwekwe town clerk Emmanuel Musara for “sleeping on the job”, leaving the city to lag behind other local authorities in infrastructure development.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Mnangagwa was speaking during a whistlestop visit at Town House on his way to officially commission e-learning equipment, a classroom block and school bus at council-owned Dambudzo Primary School in Mbizo high-density suburb.

The school, which was founded 18 years ago, is the second in the city to be named after the Vice-President.

Mnangagwa said he was unhappy that council had over the past 10 years failed to build a new school to cater for Mbizo’s growing population, forcing 1 417 pupils at Dambudzo to squat in seven classrooms.

“During the time I was MP for this area, we built three schools and the money was collected from residents who were being levied Z$1 every month and I don’t know why that levy was stopped,” he said.

“I think it is Musara who is sleeping on the job failing to advise council properly. Stop sleeping on the job because we are going to wake you up.”

Mayor Matenda Madzoke, speaking at the same event, said Mbizo, with a population of over 50 000 people, only had two secondary schools and a handful of primary schools, which could not serve the community adequately.

“The shortage of learning facilities in Mbizo has forced many of our people to fall victim to illegal colleges, which do not even have basic facilities like toilets and thereby force pupils to learn in squalid conditions,” he said.

Most pupils attend hot-sitting sessions owing to lack of learning facilities.

Mnangagwa’s visit also forced councillors to postpone their scheduled full council meeting, where they were expected to finalise debate on prepaid water meter tenders.

The debate was recently deferred after councillors refused to be railroaded into awarding a tender without analysing all bids submitted for the project.

“We had to postpone the important meeting to a date yet to be agreed because the VP was visiting our school. This does not mean the important issues will be treated any lesser,” a councilor said.