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Service delivery in the city of Harare - Hot Seat interview with Much Masunda - Part 2
Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa
March 05, 2010

Read Part 1 of this discussion

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/hotseat100310.htm

Violet Gonda: Welcome to the final part of an interview with the Mayor of Harare Much Masunda on issues to do with service delivery in the capital city. In this last segment the Mayor starts off by explaining why there's a water crisis in the city.

Much Masunda: At this time last year, February 2009 that was just a week or two after we'd been given back the responsibility of producing and distributing potable water to the whole of Harare , ZINWA was producing on average 300 mega litres of water.

Now as we speak Violet, we are producing over 600 mega litres, close to the installed capacity of the two water treatment plants. Now the two water treatment plants that provide potable water to not only Harare but the dormitory towns to Harare like Chitungwiza, Norton, Ruwa and in urban settlements like in Epworth. The demand for water in those areas is 1 300 mega litres.

What we have now brought into sharp focus by producing water at near installed capacity, the installed capacity at Morton Jaffrey is 640 mega litres a day and Morton Jaffray abstracts water from the two lakes, Lake Chivero and Lake Manyame and both of those lakes are 87% owned by the City Council and the other 13% is owned by government. And then Prince Edward water treatment abstracts water from two dams, Seke Dam and Harahwa Dam and both of those dams 100% owned by the City. So the installed capacity at Prince Edward is just under 100 mega litres.

But the work that we've done since we came into office with the assistance of the much-maligned western countries, we got for instance 650 000 Euros from the EU which enabled us to titivate the PE plant to a point where that plant can now produce an excess of 100 mega litres a day. But the only constraint that we are faced with now is that the water levels at both Harahwa and Seke are perilously low, unlike Chivero and Manyame which are virtually 100% full.

So there's a difference, there's a demand for water to the tune of 1 300 mega litres and we are producing at near optimum levels at about 600 plus, close to 700 and there's just not enough water to go around. I don't think anyone would like to be in the invidious position of Engineer Christopher Magwenzi Zvobgo because on a daily basis he has to make a call, I've got 650 mega litres of water, who is going to get it? And even I as Mayor of Harare haven't had water for the last five years. But I pay my bills religiously because the money has got to come from somewhere and money doesn't grow on trees I think that's what people need to appreciate.

Gonda: I was actually going to ask you that question because the ordinary person doesn't want to hear about what the problem is; the ordinary person just wants to have water. So why is it people are being forced to pay for water that they are not using and also these are people who are struggling to make ends meet, they don't even have the money and yet they are forced to pay this money but they are not getting the water.

Masunda: Violet, I'd occasion to take the Prime Minister, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai to Mabvuku and Tafara and before we embarked on the tour I said, Mr Prime Minister, please keep a sharp lookout for two things. Virtually every other house in Mabvuku and Tafara, and we all know that the people that live in Mabvuku and Tafara are not exactly well heeled - but every other house Violet, and I'm not joking, has got a satellite dish, if not two. And I said to the Prime Minister, Prime Minister keep a look out for the people that we are going to meet - every person, other person that we met had a cell phone and I ask, with tears rolling down my cheeks, how much does it cost to have a satellite dish installed? I mean how much does it cost on average to have a cell phone? So there has to be a paradigm shift there Violet, people need to realise that these services cost money and we can't provide these services to the satisfaction of all the ratepayers, the residents of Harare if they themselves are not prepared to pay for the services. Where is the money going to come from?

Gonda: But Mr Mayor, I'm not sure I understand what you are saying here because water is a basic human right so it doesn't really matter if people are able to buy satellite dishes or cell phones . . . (interrupted)

Masunda: It's about priorities.

Gonda: . . . yes but you are the service providers, you are supposed to be providing water to the people they are paying for this.

Masunda: Yes, I'm glad you are asking all these questions Violet. Do you know how much it costs us a month to procure water treatment chemicals? $2 million.

Gonda: Yes but you've just said you received a large grant from the European Union so clearly you have the money... (interrupted)

Masunda: Listen to me, the 650 000 Euros that we got from the EU was fully utilised in procuring flow meters and filters and you name it, the things that were meant to get the PE plant working because those two plants Violet have not received the TLC that they needed over the years. So we needed to fix the pumping capacity and get it to where it should be, so I'm talking about the recurrent expenditure here.

And the residents themselves could also help us, both the residents and the industrial operators, because the pollution from domestic and industrial users has created such a problem in terms of purifying the water that we have to procure between eight and ten different water treatment chemicals to render the water potable, in other words, drinkable. And that money's got to come from somewhere. We can't expect taxpayers from other countries to chip in and provide this kind of current expenditure, it must come from the ratepayers themselves, because government hasn't got the money and there's no way that we could get back to where we were with the Reserve Bank printing Zim dollars; they certainly can't print US dollars or Rands.

Gonda: OK so you say the ratepayers are not prioritising but your critics say it's actually outrageous that you acquired an expensive Mercedes Benz worth 150 000 dollars at a time when the Council was saying it had no money and also it was purchased at a time when the City was failing to deliver a reliable service to ratepayers. So how do you respond to that?

Masunda: Violet, this question about the Mayoral vehicle has been thrashed to death. The vehicle that was acquired for use by the Mayor's Office, not just me personally, it was actually purchased for 130 000 not 150 000 anyway. But I think that's an appreciation that up until, there's a point beyond which I could not continue providing my own vehicles for use in official duties. I don't want to start making odious comparisons about what happens in other sectors, but that vehicle was budgeted for long before I came into Office, it was felt that the mayoral vehicle was overdue for replacement and it was replaced.

Gonda: But if you are talking about priorities is that really a priority since you were complaining about ratepayers managing to buy satellite dishes and cell phones? And you say this vehicle was budgeted for but according to the Standard newspaper, the Council Procurement Board was very critical of this purchase and some Minutes that were obtained by the newspaper actually said that the Board raised concern over the City's ability to afford such an expensive vehicle and that the City had embarked on an intensive debt collecting system to finance this project, so I'm not understanding why you would defend this when your own Procurement Board was not happy with this purchase?

Masunda: Violet, I didn't have any input at all into the deliberations of the Procurement Committee and the team that was responsible for the procurement of the mayoral car and it's not about defending the procurement of that particular vehicle. If a lower spec vehicle had been procured, I'd have had no problem at all with that because I'm not a materialistic person. I've got my own things, so a decision was made, just like we have a decision that's in place that says certain positions call for certain chariots. But I hear what you are saying, if I had my way I'd have procured a lower spec vehicle because when I'm carrying out my Mayoral duties, I had to use an official car, not my car.

Gonda: Yes but are you forced to use a vehicle that is worth $130 000 dollars?

Masunda: No I'm not forced. This is why I'm saying if I had my way, I would have influenced the procurement of a lower spec vehicle but when you get told by the people that are responsible for doing these things that here is a resolution that was passed I don't know when, that says the Mayoral vehicle shall be this type of vehicle, so. But up until then Violet I must say, I made huge sacrifices to provide my own vehicles to carry out official duties and that's in addition to, and I won't bore you with the details, what I get paid as an allowance as a Mayor a month is less than what I earned an hour - and yet I spend an inordinate amount of time on Mayoral business trying to fix this problem and I will fix this problem. I'm not a quitter.

Gonda: And you mentioned earlier on that you are Chairman of Old Mutual; do you not believe though that there is a certain conflict of interest here between your position as Mayor and as Chair of Old Mutual, which is one of the biggest property-owning and managing companies in Zimbabwe ? Is there not an element of conflict of interest here?

Masunda: No there isn't, not that I'm aware of. But with these things Violet what you do is for instance, declare your interest up front which is what I did, the very first day I came into Office, I submitted to the General Secretary the list of my interests which included amongst others, Old Mutual and John Fisk and others. So the way to go about it is to manage that situation. So for instance there's not a single occasion so far that's come up where there's been an irreconcilable conflict between my interest as Chairman of Old Mutual and the interests of the City of which I'm Mayor. If that situation were to arise, I would recuse myself from the debate and hand over to the Deputy Mayor for that particular item. So there's nothing new about this conflict of interest situation but it's a matter that has to be properly and proactively managed if it created a problem.

Gonda: And how is the Council dealing with issues to do with corruption because ratepayers are complaining about councillors who are not delivering, some of them are corrupt? Then there are issues to do with tenders with the airport deal? What can you say about what's happening with these issues and also issues to do with the Town Clerk who Councillors recommended should be suspended but I understand that the Local Government Minister intervened and blocked this?

Masunda: You just fired a whole lot of questions at me . . . Right let me deal with the Town Clerk situation first. The Town Clerk, together with the other functionaries, in other words, the Heads of Department, have performance related contracts. And those contracts are very clear about the circumstances under which the incumbents can be relieved of their jobs, and for instance I do an appraisal of the Town Clerk. And he in turn does the performance appraisal of the other Heads of Department starting with the Chamber Secretary right down to the Director of Waste Management Services. So as things stand there is nothing there which could necessitate the removal of the Town Clerk from his position. You are talking of a situation Violet that occurred in the first couple of months after we'd come into Office when the Councillors were agitating for certain changes to be effected almost immediately.

And some of them, rightly or wrongly is another matter, genuinely believed that the functionaries who were in situ when we came into Office were not on the same page with them as it were. But as an attorney of over 36 years standing, I said to them, guys, there's a way of doing things so if there are instances where the Town Clerk is not delivering or any of the other functionaries, let those matters be brought to the fore and be appropriately dealt with. But we are not going to have a situation where the Town Clerk or any of the other functionaries are removed from their respective jobs on account of pressure from outside the Council, because of the perception that they must have been pro ZANU PF or whatever for them to have lasted that long. So I think that is a matter that will be dealt with appropriately as and when the circumstances dictate. Because I am not going to tolerate a situation Violet where I'm dictated to by external sources about the performance of people that are accountable to us as a Council.

Gonda: And what about the Airport Road Project? What progress has there been investigating the role of Michael Mahachi and this tender?

Masunda: I'm pleased to tell you Violet that at the stakeholders meeting that was held on the 17 th of February at the Prime Minister's Office, that meeting was chaired by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Gorden Moyo. I attended accompanied by Tendai Mahachi, the Town Clerk and Engineer Phillip Pfukwa and his team and Ignatius Chombo was there as Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development. There were two issues that needed to be dealt with. One, I don't think there's anybody, and I said it very clearly and I think everyone understood, there's no-one in his or her right mind who can quarrel with the importance of that Airport Road Project from a national and a city perspective - because we don't want a situation Violet where we could end up with the situation that occurs in Nairobi where it takes you the best part of three hours to commute from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the city of Nairobi and I think that's way under 20 kilometres, I think maybe 15 .

So in terms of the future that Project is critical, it's important, so I think we are all agreed on that. But from the City of Harare perspective the method that was a source of bother related to the circumstances under which Michael Mahachi came to be Project Manager of this project - the Airport Road Project, when indications were that, this whole thing, the contract and other ancillary matters were consummated during the time that he was the Chairman of the Commission that was tasked with the responsibility of running the City. And he was also there by the way, and so assurances have been given about the circumstances that led to his appointment as the Project Manager - because Michael Mahachi in his own right is a Quantity Surveyor and a partner in a firm of quantity surveyors. That's the first thing and secondly, we were told that the matter had been investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission, ably assisted by the Transparency International Zimbabwe and, I'm not aware of the findings but the indications during the meeting was that he's totally been exonerated. So, what we have now resolved to do is to put our heads together and mobilise resources that need to be mobilised to get that project over and done with.

Gonda: And what is the role of Sasha Jogi who was a Commissioner under Mike Mahachi? Has there been an investigation around the Newlands by-pass because some say that there is a conflict of interest with his role in the Newlands by-pass?

Masunda: Right, let's go back to what I said about the Special Interest Councillors. Sasha Jogi is one of 11 Special Interest Councillors who were appointed by Ignatius Chombo and he is amongst three of the Special Interest Councillors, the other two are Hironi Mutorongo (sp) and Lisbon Marufu. Those three gentlemen were part of the last Commission that was headed by Michael Mahachi, the other one that was there up until late last year, was Alfred Tome who was doubling up as the Acting Provincial Administrator of Harare and a member of the Commission. So those were the four individuals who Ignatius Chombo saw fit to appoint as Special Interest Councillors when we came into Office and then he subsequently appointed another seven making a compliment of 11.

So Sasha Jogi in his personal capacity is an Urban Planning Expert and one of the better ones in Zimbabwe and he's a partner with Over Arup, which is a firm of consultant engineers. And like Michael Mahachi, there will inevitably be instances where there could be a conflict of interest in terms of any work that their respective firms may tender for but I'm unaware of any conflict that has arisen since I've been there. There may have been instances that occurred before the 1 st of July 2008 , but knowing Sasha as I do, I think he's the sort of individual who would proactively deal with any conflict that may arise, not only for his own good but for the good of the other interested party. There are quite a lot of issues that are being raised about that Newlands by-pass but none that are Sasha Jogi specific as it were.

Gonda: So what are some of the issues that are being raised about the Newlands by-pass?

Masunda: I think they're related to the cost and how long it took and there are some people that feel that their rights over certain property in the Gun Hill area got trampled upon because that road was supposed to have taken a different route, you know that kind of thing. But the problem with a lot of our compatriots in Zimbabwe , especially in Harare is that they tend to place undue emphasis on the scuttlebutt that does its rounds instead of actually coming up with specific things, so they can be dealt with and dealt with as they should.

Gonda: So what measures is the Council taking to ease the burden upon ratepayers?

Masunda: In a normal situation Violet you would try and ease the burden more on the ratepayers in the high density areas because they're the ones who haven't got much by way of disposable income but one needs to make sure that you don't go overboard by doing that. So the way that we are trying to go about it is to make sure that the Council assets and there are many of them are made to sweat more so that we generate revenue and relieve the burden of the ratepayers in general especially the ones that are in the high density areas.

Let me give you an example, Rufaro Stadium, Gwanzura Stadium, those are stadia that belong to the City and all these golf courses and other recreational facilities that are dotted around Harare, they all belong to the City Council and Harare has a distinction when you compare it to other metropolitan areas of having about 13 golf courses within a 25 kilometre radius. So what we need to do is to revisit the arrangements that are currently in place with these sports clubs and golf clubs and so forth and make sure that they pay as far as possible without killing their operations, an economically viable rent as opposed to the peppercorn rent that they are paying.

You take Rufaro Stadium and Gwanzura; there's a huge opportunity which we're exploring at the moment of setting up giant screens to screen English Premier football matches because as you know we are an Anglophone country and we are all mad about English Premier League and on Saturdays we could take the crowds there to Rufaro Stadium and the capacity there is about 40 000 seats. If we get 30 000 people paying $5 each that will be $150 000 every Saturday and we'd have two lots of people going in there because there's an early match and a match much later in the evening. And we could do likewise on Mondays and Tuesdays, even Wednesdays when we've got all these Championship League matches and generate revenue to ply back into developing the infrastructure in places like Mbare. And do likewise at Gwanzura Stadium and Dzivarasekwa Stadium. You know the opportunities are there for us to generate revenue because we can't keep looking at the proverbial cows like Old Mutual and First Mutual and Pearl Properties and others because over time they've been milked almost dry.

And we are not, and I emphasise Violet, we are not a profit making organisation but we are not a loss making organisation either. We are there to provide services and I'm determined to make all these Council assets that I've talked about sweat more and get to a situation for instance where we are going to see, with the restoration of sanity in the markets, we want to see a situation where we are going to start trading Local Authority bonds, Municipal bonds to raise revenue - to deal with all these issues that are of concern to the citizen. Because in the past Local Authority bonds were gilt edged bonds, people falling all over themselves to invest in Local Authority, Municipal bonds and there is a market for that. You know the money market was principally made up of Municipal bonds and government stock and we should make sure we stop talking about things and do things because you can't have all these investment workshops in this country when in the next breath, (Minister) Saviour Kasukuwere is talking about Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment regulations that are going to make a nonsense of all these other initiatives that we are pursuing. And I just want to get on with it and in fact I've given myself a deadline that in less than five years that I've got, as I said earlier in the absence of another set of harmonised elections, to have made a huge difference and groomed the next person to become mayor.

Gonda: OK, now on that note we have come to the end of our programme. That was Mayor of Harare, Mr Much Masunda. Thank you very much for participating on the programme Hot Seat.

Masunda: My pleasure.

Read Part 1 of this discussion.

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