The chaos engulfing the Bulawayo City Council has been linked to manoeuvres by what has been described as Harare-based cartels that are angling for multi-million tenders for various projects under the jurisdiction of the local authority.
On Friday, Bulawayo mayor David Coltart revealed that the fight over town clerk Christopher Dube’s contract renewal has split councillors amid allegations that those, who are opposed to the extension were receiving threats from unknown people.
Coltart said at one point he had to abandon a meeting he was chairing to deliberate on Dube’s contract after it “rapidly degenerated into total disorder,” with councillors trading insults and threats.
The town clerk’s contract expired last year, but he was handed a year extension before he requested that it be extended until he reaches the new government retirement age of 70 according to new government regulations.
A dispute erupted among councillors and the mayor, which saw Local Government minister Daniel Garwe and Provincial Affairs minister Judith Ncube entering the fray.
Garwe is said to have advised council to seek guidance from the Attorney General’s office as extending Dube’s contract could have wider implications on the local authority’s human resources.
The minister’s intervention, however, did not stop those pushing for the contract extension and some Bulawayo councillors have since revealed that bribes from the alleged Harare cartels and threats of physical harm were now fuelling the chaos.
One councillor said the tenderpreneurs, some who have secured multimillion dollar contracts in Harare, were using bribes and state security agents to divide Bulawayo councillors.
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He said Dube had become a pawn in the game as the tendepreneurs believe he could be manipulated to do their own bidding because of his precarious contract position.
Most of the tenderpreneurs are linked to the ruling Zanu PF party. Another councillor cited a case where a named Harare-based businessman has been lobbying council for a tender to provide critical services for 30 years.
“We propose to implement this project under a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) contract for a period of 30 years,” reads a confidential letter addressed to then acting Town Clerk Sikhangele Zhou and Dube dated December 13, 2024.
The letter by the Harare based businessman’s company was addressed to Garwe, Coltart, chief secretary to the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya, as well as Local Government permanent secretary John Basera.
Councillors rejected the proposal in an August full council meeting, but that has not stopped the company from reaching out to individual councillors, sources said.
It is said that councillors have proposed that a local entity be given the tender.
Four Bulawayo companies have submitted their expressions of interest for the particular project.
The fallout over Dube’s contract and the unsolicited is said to have seen some councillors working to sabotage projects initiated by Coltart.
The projects include the proposed Glassblock Dam, a medium-term solution to the city’s water shortages.
The dam to be built on the Mzingwane River will have a capacity of 130 million cubic metres of water.
The estimated cost of constructing the Glassblock Dam is US$100 million and council envisages working with private investors to bring it to fruition.
Coltart said council remained committed to finding a lawful resolution to the impasse over Dube’s contract.
“The general purposes committee, which I chair, remains committed to finding a lawful and rational resolution to this situation but cannot do so in the face of brazenly illegal conduct and in a climate of fear, threats and intimidation,” he told journalists in Bulawayo on Friday.
“Indeed the current situation, where the pursuit of personal interests is crowding out attention being given to the serious challenges facing the city, is shameful and must immediately end in the best interests of the people we serve, namely the residents of the City of Bulawayo.”
