Back to Index

Statement on the Mass Resignation of Harare City Councillors
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
August 26, 2004

The Combined Harare Residents Association applauds the determined action of the MDC Councillors who have tendered their resignations from Harare City Council. Their principled stand in refusing to be abused any longer by the mugabe regime should be an example to all citizens who wish to see a peaceful, free and prosperous Zimbabwe.

The regime's co-called Minister of Local Government has treated Harare as his personal fiefdom and as the property of Zanu-pf. Chombo and his cronies Mangwende and Makwavarara have sought to deny the democratic voice of the residents who voted overwhelmingly in 2002 against his party and for a democratic, accountable and transparent local government. The litany of partisan interventions by the regime is long: from the saga of Mayor Mudzuri to the electoral betrayal by Makwavarara and others, the regime has never allowed our elected representatives to do the job for which we elected them. The latest moves to run the council through the back door using the so-called "advisory committee" headed by James Kurasha in collusion with Mangwende are the final straw.

CHRA calls upon all councillors to show solidarity with this action. Those that refuse to do so should be regarded as members of zanu-pf. Councillors should return to their wards and work with local residents associations to address the needs of our impoverished people at grassroots level. We need councillors who are embedded in the communities that elect them, not opportunists using the people for personal gain. When we are able to elect our Council in free and fair elections under recognised standards, those councillors who are vana vevanhu will be elected.

CHRA calls upon all citizens of the capital city to reject the machinations of the regime. No more rates until we have democracy restored in our city. We will not give our hard-earned money to a coterie of anti-democratic, unaccountable and opaque zanu-pf functionaries. The city is ours and we will use the power of our pockets to reclaim it from the thieves who are sitting at Town House.

Visit the CHRA fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP