THE stability prevailing at Town House is an indicator that probably some people who were involved in the governance and administration of the City of Harare in the last three years were not supposed to be there in the first place.

The officials and the councillors seem to have found each other and are making quick interventions on issues brought to their attention.

There was a time when conflicts among the councillors and Town House bureaucrats was so evident that it became an open war zone.

You would not engage one councillor without offending the other, and similarly officials feared each other to the extent that they would do anything to hurt the other.

Central government interference is now minimal.

What is evident, however, is that there is need for serious review of the criteria for selecting councillors.

The role of central government in the running of local authorities needs to be reviewed.

The council needs to be fully devolved to enable citizens involvement in local decision-making, resource allocation and setting development priorities.

The council can, indeed, become a model if there is consensus on service delivery priorities.

Corruption cannot be totally eradicated without a radical mindset shift, and that is a long process.

Therefore, we need to keep corrupt practices at a very minimal until we eventually rid ourselves of that scourge.

Why do councillors and officials fight yet they pretend to be fighting to give citizens the best service? The ratepayer has lost due to fighting among councillors and officials.

My prayer is that they choose to serve the people, not their political party interests.

Precious Shumba