Asher Moyo
CHIPINGE-Former magistrate and Chipinge Town Community Association(CTCA) coordinator and public relations officer, Amato Rungano who is Zanu PF ward 5 aspiring councilor said if voted into office he will push for refurbishment of old urban buildings.
Rungano said council was facing difficulties in dealing with the owners of the old dilapidated buildings because they do not have legal frame work to handle it.
Ward 5 is a new which was formed after the 2022 delimitation exercise.
“Our town is growing, but land is depleting. We will advocate that every person who is building in town must build story buildings. This will cater for land shortages and it will also attract investors. The other issue is that old buildings that no longer conform to modern standards and by laws must be refurbished and modernized.
“We want to make sure that all these buildings are upgraded to meet the required standards,” he said.
He also said that he will work towards adequate water supplies, refuse collection and trafficable roads
Rungano said some of his achievements as an activist was the formation of the Chipinge Business Residents Trust (CBRT) which pushes for by-laws. He said Chipinge Town Council was operating without bylaws.
“What is important is to belong to the society. I have been a resident of Chipinge Town for the past 15 years and had been actively involved through Chipinge Business Residents Trust (CBRT).
“When we mooted the idea of forming a business trust, the idea was to make sure we deal with corruption at council. We were the first people to lobby for by laws. Chipinge Town council was operating without by laws.
“We also dealt with issues of corruption. We took a leading role as a trust. We were the first people to unearth corruption at Chipinge Town council,” he added.
He said he was the first magistrate to be appointed to handle corruption at Chipinge Town Council.
“It was coming from my background of being a Magistrate. In 2006 I was the first Magistrate to be appointed by the local authority to preside over a corruption case at Chipinge Town council. The case involved town engineer Talent Kusena, HR Njobo and Director of Housing Nyatito. Council lost a lot of revenue because of their incompetence. I recommended their dismissal.
The same people who made me to form CTCA are the same people who pushed me to take up a policy making role so that I can effectively represent the residents,” he said.
He said he will work towards proper governance at Chipinge Town Council.
“When you are in a trust, you only influence policy. We mooted proper governance where residents can now participate. This resonates well with our President’s mantra, leaving no one and no place behind.
“This is what we are encouraging. We want proper governance at our local authority as we pursue vision 20230. Everyone must participate in the issues that affect him/her as a stakeholder.
“Noone was allowed to participate in a council and thematic issues were a preserve of councilors. Residents were not allowed hence the formation of CTCA and this pressure group has brought up the change,” he said.
.
