DODOMA Municipality’s embattled Mayor has stepped aside as dozens of councillors demand investigation into alleged embezzlement of water project funds amounting to 30m/-.
Mr Jafari Mwanyemba told reporters here
yesterday that he will not chair council meetings and instead the Deputy
Mayor, Mr Jumanne Ngede, will do so. Initially, more than 30
councillors from the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) walked out of the
party’s caucus on Tuesday charging that the mayor lacked moral authority
to chair the meeting.
In the same vain yesterday where
councillors were supposed to present their performance reports for
discussion, many of them said they were not ready to participate in a
meeting chaired by the Mayor. The meeting was expected to have been
concluded since Tuesday, but failed due to the scandal.
Addressing members of the press after a
‘failed meeting’ to calm irritated councillors, the Mayor said: “I have
delegated power to the deputy mayor as per the rules and procedures.” He
explained that he was stepping aside to allow councillors deliberate on
key issues for the municipality and the people.
“I have just received a letter from the
District Executive Director (DED) regarding alleged accusations ... I am
time limited. I decided to give way for the meeting to continue as I
respond to accusations levelled against me,” he said.
Mr Mwanyemba claimed that he was clean
and he followed all needed procedures as the mayor. Earlier, during the
meeting, the councillors also accused the mayor of being biased by
favouring special seat councillors as members of the budget committee,
the allegations he denied at the press conference.
“His intention is to see elected women
councillors failing to perform well in their wards. This is
unacceptable, we need the same treatment in planning and funding
development projects,” said Mnadani Councillor Ms Farida Mbarouk.
Kilimani Ward Councillor, Ms Neema Mwaluko said elected female
councillors were being humiliated in the council, with the Mayor taking
sides.
“We’re threatened that the council will
be dissolved if we don’t keep quite ... we’re ready for the council to
be dissolved for the betterment of our people and the municipality, but
the Mayor must step aside,” another councillor Ms Pascasia Mayala for
Mbabala Ward told reporters.
At least 47 out of 57 councillors
submitted a petition of no confidence to Dodoma DED, Mr Godfrey Kunambi
demanding the Mayor to respond to accusations.
Mr Kunambi issued a latter giving the
mayor five days from Monday to respond to accusations and subsequently
forward the matter to the Regional Commissioner, Mr Jordan Rugimbana, to
form an investigative panel in fourteen days.
Mr Mwanyemba is accused of
misappropriating 30m/- which was part of a 112m/- JICA funded water
project at Zuzu Ward in the Municipality.
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