The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has called for a rates boycott following the mass resignation by Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) councillors yesterday.

CHRA chairman, Mike Davis told the Privately owned The Daily News that residents must stop paying rates and press for fresh council elections and the reinstatement of the suspended executive mayor, Elias Mudzuri. “We applaud the decision by the councillors and this will show that events at Town House are not democratic. We know that the city will continue to be dominated by Zanu PF people, James Kurasha, Witness Mangwende and Ignatius Chombo.

That’s is why we are calling for a rates boycott,” said Davis. Harare city councillors resigned en masse yesterday morning citing constant political interference in their duties. They said they were dismayed that government Interference had prevented the elected Harare Council from carrying out its functions. Last Maengahama, the spokesman of the councillors said it had become meaningless to hold on to their jobs. “The elected representatives of residents were no longer being listened to.

Councillors were just being suspended and even those that were not being suspended had no powers,” said Maengahama. He said the city of Harare was now being run by Governor Witness Mangwende with the “assistance of Makwavarara who no longer has a mandate to be in office.” He said the government was taking residents for granted by not respecting the residents’ representatives.

The councillors’ resignation leaves the city with only five councillors namely, Hubert Manhungo of Zanu PF, acting Mayor Sekesai Makwavarara, Tapfumaneyi Jaja, George Vlahakis and Grandmore Hakata who all defected from the MDC. There were 46 councillors in 2002, 45 from the MDC and one from the ruling party. But the number was reduced to 25 after the government dismissed some of the councillors for insubordination. Elected mayor Elias Mudzuri was also suspended by the government last year.

MDC spokesman Paul Themba-Nyathi said his party welcomed the mass resignation of the councillors. “As a result of this unrelenting political interference with their activities, and the government’s demonstrable contempt for their roles as democratically elected representatives of the people, the remaining MDC councillors in the city have this morning decided to resign en masse,” he said.

The government has since the election of the councillors in March 2002 been firing and suspending MDC councillors for allegedly disobeying its authority. The Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe has accused local government, public works and national housing minister Ignatius Chombo of sabotaging urban councils through interference. Most urban councils are run by the MDC.