The
concerns
were
raised
during
a
public
dialogue
on
accountability
held
on
Wednesday
at
the
Bulawayo
Club.
The
meeting,
themed Enhancing
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.