Chalton Hwende, the secretary-general of the opposition MDC has said that Cabinet must not have renamed roads after President Emmerson Mnangagwa since the roads are under local government authorities run by the MDC.
His remarks come after Cabinet approved the renaming of a number of roads, a development that saw Mnangagwa getting nine (9) roads renamed after himself. The development did not please Hwende who fumed on microblogging site, Twitter saying:
These Urban Roads are owned by our councils the same council maintain these roads with funds from ratepayers who rejected @edmnangagwa. He is illegitimate so he can’t impose himself on our council roads. The law is clear and must be followed.
The development also attracted criticism for the government with observers saying that the government was prioritising petty issues.
According to the Urban Councils Act Section 212 (1) passed in 2018 and signed by the Local government Minister, the naming of roads and streets within council areas remains the prerogative of local authorities
Meanwhile, the roads which the government and the MDC are contesting for are in a poor state for years with a number of accidents attributed to their sorry state.
More: Chalton Hwende