Confusion Within CCC Over Councillors' Attendance Of ZILGA Meeting
There was confusion within the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) faction led by Jameson Timba over whether its councillors should attend the Zimbabwe Local Government Association (ZILGA) annual meeting, which was graced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The meeting, held in Harare on Tuesday last week, was attended by councillors from all 92 local authorities in Zimbabwe.
However, CCC provincial administrators reportedly blocked party councillors from attending, arguing that the event was affiliated with ZANU PF.
According to NewsDay sources, several councillors pleaded with party leaders to allow them to attend, pointing out that they had already received allowances from their respective local authorities.
In a last-minute reversal, acting party administrator Lesley Mukurazhizha lifted the ban, allowing CCC councillors to attend the event. Many councillors arrived late as a result.
In a communique to councillors dated November 26, 2024, seen by NewsDay, Mukurazhizha clarified that the event fell within the operational framework of the local councils, thus justifying attendance. It reads in part:
An appeal by some councillors clarifying the objectives and intent of the programme was received and reviewed and it was noted that such meetings have taken place in the past with our full participation…
That the intended programme is different from the indoctrination at the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology, which your leadership had feared from the onset.
CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi told NewsDay that the issue stemmed from an internal miscommunication, which was subsequently clarified. Said Mkwananzi:
We have a standing resolution that bars our councillors from attending all programmes that are done under the auspices of the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology, not all other traditional programmes that have always been done under the Local Government ministry, the Urban Councils Act and the Constitution. This particular programme fell within the purview of the latter.
Councillors linked factions led CCC faction led by Sengezo Tshabanngu and Welshman Ncube attended the event.
The Timba-led CCC has in the past prevented its councillors from attending ZANU PF events that were presented as national programmes.
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