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Interview with Clement Chingombe, Harare City Councillor - Mbare
Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa, Kubatana.net
February 23, 2012

How are people in the ward your represent affected by the activities of Chipangano?
I don't want to speak about the wards which I don't represent. As you know Mbare is a big suburb. It begins at the West End at Magaba and ends at Beatrice Cottages. Since it's so big, there are areas where we see there are hot-blooded people, especially near Mbare Msika. I think there are people who use others there. When they want to do shady deals, they use youths to go and harass other business people as a way of distracting them. These young people go wherever they are sent running and don't notice what going on.

In your opinion how can the youths in Mbare be assisted?
The big issue is that there are no jobs. It would be good if we could find them projects. We don't want the kind of assistance that is limited in impact where you only find a handful of people who were helped, but something that helps everyone. They should be taught a skill or a trade. And I think it would also help in dealing with the violence and animosity. People bring soccer to create harmony in our community but I think projects would be more effective.

What would you say are the biggest issues affecting residents in your ward?
I think the biggest issue is that people have no place to live. People are living in very crowded conditions. There are many houses which are not big enough to hold many people. We see that many parents have died of HIV/AIDS leaving children behind. In some cases there are parents who do not earn enough to send their children to school. Just yesterday there was a school that was offering assistance through BEAM and parents were filling in the forms. Then we heard that there would be a vetting process and we have no idea how this is going to happen, what their conditions or criteria are, nor how long it will take. Then there are people who are holding secret meetings. For some people, if they hold them publicly they will be harassed and this is a very big problem.

So what are you doing as councillor to assist residents in your ward?
What I felt needed most attention was the housing situation. So I've turned my attention towards assisting housing cooperatives in order to alleviate the situation, especially since council is also overwhelmed by this problem. I encourage residents to form their own cooperatives, and when they need my assistance I go to council on their behalf so that they can get stands.

How many people have you helped get new homes?
Right now there are no people with homes. We started this project in 2009 and unfortunately we faced some difficulties. Other cooperatives that began at the same time as us have been allocated land in places like Budiriro, Glen View and Marimba. Sadly for us, however, there were people who were corrupt and stole funds from the cooperative and it's delayed the process. There are now two cooperatives that I'm working with. I'm not a member of either of them, neither do I get money from them or use them for campaigns. I feel that it's my duty as councillor to see that the residents of my ward have a place to live.

What is the water situation like in Mbare?
It is challenging. Our pipes are very old and made of metal. Some of them are blocked by rust. They need to be replaced. It's impossible for them to be replaced all at once, so Council has been working on them in different areas. Additionally, water goes quite often, in fact water went yesterday and only came back today.

Do you know of any residents who were affected by typhoid?
Last week there was a child who was infected by the disease. He was taken to the council clinic where the doctors did well and helped to cure. In our area we are teaching good hygiene and sanitation, so it's not as bad as in other areas.

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