Do you remember MDC-T want a Harare street to be named after late Tsavngirais wife The MDC-T-dominated Harare City Council has brewed a storm by proposing to rename a street in the capital after the late wife of party leader Dr.Morgan Tsvangirai, Susan, who died in a car crash along the Harare-Masvingo Road in 2009. The move meant to honour Tsvangirai’s wife has, however, failed to garner support from some top party officials, the like of Biti, Mangoma, Mudzuri and Madzore ,who reportedly rejected it as “too partisan”. Despite objections from the party, council has vowed it would recognise luminaries who worked for Harare “without political interference”. Others set to be recognised were slain United States human rights activist Martin Luther King II Junior, Zanu-Ndonga leader Ndabaningi Sithole and career civil servant Sarah Kachingwe, who died recently. The new list of proposed names comes at a time daggers have been drawn between the local authority and MDC-T Harare province over the renaming of three streets without consulting the province. However, councillors told NewsDay they had the right to make autonomous decisions regarding the city without consulting the party. “We were told that the provincial leadership felt they needed to be consulted on this issue, but I don’t see the need. We make decisions that are good for the city and we have no apologies on that,” said one councillor who refused to be named. “We will sit again as councillors and decide on how best to honour luminaries who did a good job for the city.” Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda added: “As the designated local authority which is there to serve the diverse material and emotive needs of all stakeholders, we have to be inclusive in everything that we do. We must establish a pool of names of eminent persons, right across the political divide, after whom some of our roads and buildings may be named in their honour. “Some of the luminaries who readily come to mind are Ndabaningi Sithole, Susan Tsvangirai and Sarah Letty Kachingwe. I don’t think there can be any serious debate about the eligibility of the three persons.” Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said although the issue has not yet been brought to their attention, they would not meddle in the affairs of the local authority. Latest council minutes showed that council had considered a long-standing request by the Law Society of Zimbabwe to honour two legal luminaries, the late Enock Dumbutshena and Walter Kamba, and human rights defender King II Junior, by naming streets in Harare after them.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:24:33 +0000
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