Sofia Mapuranga
Harare—President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife, Auxillia, is once again in the spotlight following a directive by the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) for local authorities to fund her Valentine ’s Day charity work.
The first lady, who has in the past been accused of meddling in government affairs, is on 14 and 15 February hosting a children’s Valentine’s event at Harare Children’s Home.
She heads the Angel of Hope Foundation, a charity organisation.
She is reportedly inviting all female councilors nationally to attend the event.
A letter written by UCAZ has directed local authorities to meet the costs of attending the event by the invited female councillors.
UCAZ, a voluntary association which started as a loose forum of municipalities in 1923, is one of the oldest local government associations in Africa and draws its membership from all urban councils.
The UCAZ secretary general, Livison Mutekede, issued a notice to councils on 12 February 2025 alerting them of the event at which underprivileged children would receive gifts.
According to the notice, each local authority is supposed to finance the travel and subsistence costs for the councillors for the two days that they will be in Harare for the event.
Noted Mutekede in the letter: “Your council is humbly requested to cover travel and subsistence allowances .The travelling dates are 13 and 15 February 2025.”
Nationwide, local authorities are failing to provide adequate service delivery, with residents struggling to access water, sanitation, waste disposal, health care, sewerage management and general road maintenance management, among others.
The local authorities cite financial constraints and central government meddling in their affairs.
However, critics identify corruption, poor management and misplaced priorities as the major causes of poor service delivery.
Recently, a war veteran leading a campaign for the removal of President Mnangagwa from power, Blessed Geza, accused government of funding the first lady’s charity work from mysterious sources.
Harare Residents Trust (HRT) director, Precious Shumba, said the communique by UCAZ confirms that the organisation was now serving the interests of the political elite, adding that its actions undermined ratepayers’ interests.
“We see them at the forefront of coercing local authorities to support activities of the first lady as confirmed by their letter. Who did they consult to be making such demands from local authorities?
“As for the City of Harare, we do not want ratepayers’ money to be spent on activities that have not been budgeted for. We are sure that the first lady has a budget that she draws from for her philanthropic activities. Such unbudgeted expenditure will severely affect service delivery,” Shumba told News Hub.
He urged UCAZ to fight in the corner of local authorities and ratepayers and desist from writing letters to local authorities coercing them to finance the activities of political elites.
Chitrest director, Alice Kuvheya, said local authorities should prioritise service delivery and provide essential services such as water to residents.
Said Kuvheya: “Local authorities are already struggling and they should be left to provide services such as water, garbage collection and paying their workers’ salaries timeously rather than sponsoring activities that have nothing to do with their mandate, which is service delivery.”