Minister smokes peace pipe with parliamentary committee

By Rumbidzai Rudanda

Local Government and Public Works Minister, Daniel Garwe, has made a heartfelt plea to the ministry’s parliamentary portfolio committee to bury the hatchet and put the mistrust behind them.

Speaking during an interactive working lunch on unpacking of Minimum Service Delivery Standards and Urban Stateland Management Policies, Minister Garwe told parliamentarians to be apolitical and aim at serving the nation.

He added that the role of Local Government was to ensure the country with first class service delivery.
“We apologise to you parliamentarians and our committee members for the wrongs we have done and vice versa.

“It is high time we sit down as we are doing today, lets bury our differences and do our job.

“Our duty orders us to be apolitical, we need to come and serve our President Emmerson Mnangagwa vision of attaining an upper middle income by 2030.

“For us to fulfill this objective we need to be a united force that is both the ministry and you our parliamentarians.
“Let us pray for this, and our master plans of a clean and orderly country will be achieved.

Minister Garwe said his office was working around the clock to bring sanity in operations around the country’s local authorities.

“Our days of quarrel are over let us be united and understand that our President Mnangawa’s call is of unity and progress.

Minister Garwe said the performance of Local Authorities both Urban and Rural will be based on assessments set in the Minimum Service Delivery Standards documents and this in turn will form the basis for performance awards and performance improvement plans where Councils fail to meet the set minimum standards.

“As you are also aware, His Excellency, launched the Urban Stateland Management Policy in Bulawayo. The Urban Stateland Management Policy ushers in a new era in the administration and management of a critical national resource, urban stateland.

“This guiding document comes at an opportune time when the country is witnessing unprecedented urban growth, driven primarily by huge demand for land within and around cities, towns and other growing urban centres in the country.

“The Urban Stateland Management Policy is a comprehensive framework designed to promote sustainable urban development, improve the quality of life for urban residents and ensure effective management of urban land resources,” said Minister Garwe.

He said the policy’s vision is to achieve sustainable and efficient management of urban stateland, promoting orderly development, equitable access and optimal utilisation of this valuable resource for the benefit of all Zimbabweans.

“The Policy seeks to accomplish the following objectives:
To promote health, safety and quality of life for urban communities through efficient and sustainable urban development.

“To eliminate land and space baronism and to protect citizens from fraudulent land deals and resource loss;
To curb urban sprawl and promote orderly development.”