Residents in Bulawayo have accused the city council of lacking transparency and failing to take meaningful action against corruption, with some alleging systematic theft of public infrastructure and unfulfilled development promises.
The concerns were raised during a public dialogue on accountability held on Wednesday at the Bulawayo Club. The meeting, themedEnhancing Integrity in Local Governance, was organised by the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITEZW), in partnership with the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) and the Public Policy Research Institute of Zimbabwe (PPRIZ).
Journalist Makhosi Sibanda questioned the city council’s relationship with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), saying residents had yet to see any arrests linked to corruption within the municipality.
“What’s your relationship with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission? Because we have never seen anyone arrested for corruption. Are you intentional about ending corruption in Bulawayo? If you were intentional, today you would have told us that we have arrested 15 people for corruption in 2025. Therefore, there should be measures or progress towards ending corruption. If you don’t do that as council, we are always going to ask the council what are you doing to stop corruption,” said Sibanda
BPRA representative Thembalani Dube alleged the disappearance of council resources pointed to internal collusion.
“There is no way drums (285 drums with tar for roda maintainance were stolen in June) can vanish without anyone noticing. This appears to be systematic corruption,” Dube said.
He also criticised the council for not specifying locations of planned service delivery, such as roadworks or school improvements, making it difficult for residents to monitor implementation.
Fellow BPRA member Nicholas Ngwenya said the council had failed to provide clear information on development projects. He cited a case involving the proposed Glassblock Dam, where residents were initially told was a council project but later told a private contractor was in charge of construction and contributions of 16 cents per household would be needed.
“If the council had communicated all the details from the start, residents would have had time to prepare or suggest alternatives,” he said.
In response, acting director of the audit department Sizo Sithole encouraged residents to report suspected corruption through councillors or directly to the audit department. He said plans were underway to set up hotlines for anonymous reporting.
“Residents can also report to the Mayor, Town Clerk or through City Hall’s reporting desk,” Sithole said.
Bulawayo City Council’s Corporate Communications Manager, Nesisa Mpofu said residents should engage their ward councillors to access accurate information. She added that the council was livestreaming full council meetings and community consultations to improve transparency.
Source: CITE
Source: CITE
