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CHRA condemns changing of faces at the helm of the City
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
April 28, 2006

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) rejects the idea creeping into the ruling party’s agenda of having to replace a failed commission with another commission to run the affairs of Harare at the expense of a democratically elected council.

The residents of Harare are clear on what they want. For the record, the residents were loud and categorical at the Girls’ High School on Tuesday (25/4/06) before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government that conducted a public hearing into the state of service delivery by the City of Harare.

Perennial commissions with unlimited terms, no matter where they come from are unwelcome in Harare and any other local authority. What we demanded yesterday, what we demand today, and what we will demand tomorrow is that WE NEED NEW ELECTIONS FOR A PEOPLES’ COUNCIL NOW!

CHRA is not hoodwinked by the vilification of the Makwavarara Commission by some people in government who are leaking information to the media (The Zimbabwe Independent 28/4/06, The Financial Gazette 27/4/06) as a pre-emptive strategy. We are aware that the plot is to get residents to endorse the removal of Makwavarara and celebrate a new commission. Service delivery and legitimacy are non-existent in the current strategy.

While we welcome the inevitable exit of the puppet Makwavarara and her fellow commissioners, CHRA demands that the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development Ignatius Chombo and the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs urgently organise for the holding of fresh mayoral and council elections for Harare. This is in line with Section 80 (4) of the Urban Councils’ Act (Chapter 29: 15) that says; "Before the termination of office of a commissioner appointed in terms of subsection (1), otherwise than at a general election or in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (a) of Subsection (3), the commissioner shall cause an election to be held on such date as may be fixed by the commissioner to fill the vacancies on the council as if they were special vacancies.

The prolonged administration of Harare by commissions that clearly lack the mandate of residents will further prejudice residents of their democratic right to choose leaders of their choice. The principle of re-appointing commissions beyond the mandatory nine months has been ruled illegal by the High Court and the Supreme Court (Makarau’s judgement in Case Number HC12862/00 of Christopher Magwenzi Zvobgo versus the City of Harare.

Supreme Court judge Justice Wilson Sandura in the case of Lottie Stevenson versus the Minister of Local Government and others in case SC 38/02 and High Court judge Justice Hungwe’s judgement in case Number HH 210/2001 of CHRA and another versus the Registrar-General) have made similar judgements.

Lastly, we categorically state that what we want is not changing faces at the helm of the City but more significantly, a lasting solution to local government structural problems, locally and nationally, starting with democratic elections.

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