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Residents' Voices - Issue 47
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)
March 14, 2011

Police disrupt residents' training workshop

Bulawayo police yesterday (Sunday 13 March 2011) disrupted a Residents' Leadership Programme training workshop that had been organised by Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) in Cowdray Park (ward 28). The police claimed that the training was unlawful as they had not been notified. Police have also summoned the BPRA Vice Chairperson and the BPRA Programmes and Advocacy Manager who have since been accompanied by lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). The Officer in Charge of Luveve Police station cautioned the BPRA officials not to hold any meetings without notifying local police.

Residents query Ministry of Energy operations

Six hundred Bulawayo residents last Friday got an opportunity to take representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Power Development and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to task over failure to ease the country's energy woes and poor service delivery by the parastatal. Residents' grievances revolved around failure by the ministry to ensure electrification of suburbs like Emganwini and Cowdray Park. Residents also denounced load shedding and also questioned how their bills are inflating despite that electricity black outs are rampant across the city. They also queried the insurance scheme that ZESA claims reimburses residents for property damaged as a result of power inconsistencies. BPRA called the Ministry of Energy and Power Development to address residents' concerns because ZESA has been taken to task on numerous occasions with no improvement being noted in service delivery. The association is embarking on a campaign termed "Power to the People" that will not stop until ZESA improves service delivery.

Residents abhorred by government demeanour

Residents are abhorred by the increase of ministers' salaries at a time when there are other urgent matters that depend on government financial assistance. Residents said that the fact that ministers' salaries are pegged at $2 300 while other civil servants earn less than $200 is a clear indicator of how government ministers are paying attention to personal gains at the expense of citizens' grievances. The salary increase does not only reflect that the government is capable of equitably improving civil servants' salaries but can also inject the money on schemes that can also benefit vulnerable community members through social welfare and other similar social security systems.

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