Mthuli Ncube in crosshairs: Bulawayo councillors say Finance Minister illegally rehabilitating roads in Cowdray Park instead of  focusing on economy 

By Leopold Munhende, Chief Correspondent

BULAWAYO councillors have questioned how Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has been allowed to rehabilitate roads in Cowdray Park, where he intends to stand as a legislator, without their knowledge.

Speaking during a full council meeting Wednesday councillors described as ‘illegal’, actions by Ncube whom they urged to focus on Zimbabwe’s faltering economy instead.

Ncube has been heavily involved in rehabilitation of the Caravan to Mpompini Road since his Zanu PF primaries triumph in March this year.

“We have an aspiring candidate who is busy fixing roads without council’s knowledge, we have not been told of anyone having been given authority to fix these roads and we want to know from the committee how it is handling this matter,” said Ward 12 Councillor Lillian Mlilo.

“Since he does not have our engineers, we want to know who he is fixing those roads with, and what exactly he is doing there.”

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Ncube’s campaign is focused on Cowdray Park’s underdevelopment. After misrepresenting that he built a clinic in the high-density suburb, he later initiated the road rehabilitation programme.

The road in question is still a gravel one, over 20 years after it was built. Residents have over the past years blamed council for neglecting them.

Ward 9 Councillor Donaldson Mabuto said Ncube’s disrespect of the Bulawayo council explained his failure to deal with the ongoing currency crisis.

“A report came to us as a committee about somebody engaged in illegal activities in Cowdray Park that included drilling boreholes without permission of the local authority and doing our roads,” said Mabuto.

“I contacted Ncube, whom we respect because of his credentials, that he knows procedures to follow when he wants to do something.

“I am not surprised at his actions; this is why he is failing to fix the inflation and currency issue. He is busy invading our suburbs drilling boreholes illegally.

“He had come up with a good idea but to do it during this electioneering period, coming to practise Dotito ways (is wrong) he should instead go fix the currency crisis.”

More councillors exclaimed that Ncube was behaving as if theirs was Tsholotsho Rural District Council.

If charged and found guilty Ncube faces a year in prison.