GARWE BREATHES FIRE ON BEITBRIDGE COUNCILLORS, Minister warns greedy municipality over ‘foolish fights’
LOCAL Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe has read the riot act to Beitbridge Municipality councillors, accusing them of greed, sabotage and turning the strategic border town into a circus.
In a no-nonsense visit on Saturday, Minister Garwe said the council had been consumed by petty personality wars, illegal land deals and self-enrichment schemes at the expense of service delivery.
“Beitbridge town is a strategic place to us as a country and the Sadc region. The time for child’s play and politicking is over. Let’s work together to offer people-centred service delivery. We want to cure the maladministration disease here,” he fumed.
He said Government would not stand by while councillors abandoned their duties to chase clandestine deals.
“It is disheartening to note most of you have resorted to fighting each other over illegal self-enrichment deals. This nonsensical business of wanting to sabotage each other or derail service delivery over foolish fights must end now,” he warned.
THE councillors recently passed a vote of no confidence in Mayor Peter Pirato Mafuta, citing gross incompetence and stalling projects. However, Minister Garwe declared the move null and void, saying it was motivated by greed rather than a genuine desire to improve services.
“Beitbridge is being run in a despicable manner. Zero service delivery, illegal stand deals, land cartels, unprocedural removal of the mayor, failure to provide water and manage sewer reticulation. It is disturbing,” he said.
He vowed to visit the border town every month to “whip them into line” and warned there would be no sacred cows. The minister also blasted the council for accepting a refurbished grader instead of a new one, and for pushing ahead with a stadium project in a waterway using a failed contractor.
“They have three months to fix the rot,” he said, “or we crack the whip.”
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