By Patience Gondo
BEITBRIDGE Municipality Councillors have questioned the secrecy surrounding the deployment of the town’s grader without their knowledge.
The issue raised decision-making processes within the organisation after it emerged the equipment was sent for national duty through the Mayor’s office without informing elected representatives.
The topic came to light during a full council meeting on Wednesday after Ward 3 Councillor Takavingei Mahachi asked why the grader was no longer visible carrying out road maintenance, despite improved weather conditions following the rainy season.
In response, acting town Clerk Sathulana Moyo said the grader had been deployed to assist with preparations for the 2026 Independence celebrations after a request was made through the Mayor’s office.
Officials said the request was processed after attempts to reach management directly had failed.
But councillors appeared not informed of the decision.
Councillor Emmanuel Takutaku expressed concern over the lack of communication, saying councillors were left in the dark about the grader’s whereabouts.
“I was not aware when the Acting Town Clerk advised council that the grader is not in town. I actually thought it was at the workshop. If residents had asked me, I would have confidently told them it is at the workshop ,” said Takutaku.
He said while councillors would not have opposed the grader being used for national duty, the process should have been transparent and inclusive.
“There is no way we would deny the grader to assist at a national project, but management must advise us. The grader must not leave town without the knowledge of councillors and residents,”
Women’s quota Councillor Brenda Maworere also weighed in, saying residents should be the primary beneficiaries of the equipment, which has been in the town’s possession for over a year.
She said the grader could have been deployed to do some roads before it left.
“Residents are paying road levy, and it is unfair that their roads are not being graded. They should be benefiting from this grader,” she said.
It was observed several secondary and link roads had never been touched with concentration on major roads only.
The concerns come amid growing frustration over the condition of residential roads, which councillors say have not been attended to despite the end of the rainy season.
Responding to the concerns Moyo said operational challenges, particularly fuel requirements, have affected the grader’s deployment.
“The grader requires about 300 litres of fuel to operate, which makes it difficult to move around and attend to different areas frequently,” Moyo said.
Despite the explanation, councillors said the central issue was not only resource constraints but the lack of communication and consultation in decisions affecting service delivery.
The developments have exposed tensions between councillors and the Mayor’s office, with calls for improved transparency and coordination to ensure both accountability and effective service delivery to residents.