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Chitungwiza in frantic efforts to meet President ED’s masterplan deadline
“It appears that the council has taken a selfish approach that looks like punishing someone who wants to invest in his home by denying him as a private player other incentives to recoup costs.”
AMID mounting service delivery woes, the cash-strapped Chitungwiza Municipality is making frantic efforts to meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s June 30 deadline for all councils to have their master plans approved.
Chitungwiza has been operating without a master plan, a situation that has made it difficult for the council to provide functional town planning and service delivery to residents.
The municipality’s last hope now lies with Prophet Walter Magaya, who also hails from Chitungwiza.
Magaya’s company Wistmer Investments has offered to fund a comprehensive 10-year development masterplan that is aimed at making Chitungwiza a smart and green city.
When contacted for a comment Chitungwiza public relations officer Tafadzwa Kachiko confitned that there was an engagement with councillors to chart the way forward with regards to the masterplan.
“Considers time it should worry residents but we are working round the clock?
However, sources said that the municipality and Wistmer are working flat out to resolve some key contractual disputes on the master plan and water project
Chitungwiza is today set to hold a meeting for all stakeholders involved in the drafting of the master plan.
A letter to councillors dated 8 June signed by the acting chamber secretary GS Mvere is inviting councillors to attend a master plan stakeholder consultative meeting today.
“Notice is hereby given that a Master Plan Stakeholder Consultative meeting will be held on Monday, the 10th of June 2024, in the Council Chamber, Zengeza, at 5.00pm.”
A source close to the negotiations disclosed to this publication that Magaya was concerned about the manner in which council was handling the negotiations
“It appears that the council has taken a selfish approach that looks like punishing someone who wants to invest in his home by denying him as a private player other incentives to recoup costs.
Water is regarded as a basic right and for that reason is viewed as an unviable business by the private sector.
Public private partnerships involve a contract between a public-sector authority and a private party, in which the private party provides a public service or project and assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk in the project.
Under these investment deals the private sector would be called in to partner in growth-enhancing infrastructure in sectors such as power, transport and water sectors.
The need for funding in the water and sewer reticulation in Chitungwiza became glaring during the advent of the cholera epidemic which claimed thousands of lives in Zimbabwe.
According to documents in our possession in that light Wistmer and Chitungwiza Municipality engaged in discussions to transform Chitungwiza into a Smart and Green City last year in November.
Chitungwiza expressed its acceptance to engage Wistmer as partner to roll out various phases of the Smart and Green City Project.
In a letter to Zida dated 23 January 2024 Chitungwiza expressed its approval of the proposed PPP project with Wistmer “without reservation or doubt” stating that it had assessed the proposed project as a whole.