By Alois Vinga
HARARE City Council (HCC) mayor Jacob Mafume says the move to attend a three-day workshop at the Chitepo School of Ideology was just a City Father’s role and should not be misinterpreted.
Mafume attended the event following a directive by the government compelling all Local Authority leaders to attend a three-day workshop organized by the School.
After Mafume’s Certificate of Attendance went viral, critics accused him of supporting the ruling party’s principles.
But speaking during a Council meeting last week, Mafume defended his attendance saying as a City Father “he will attend main events held in the City.”
“In my understanding, the Mayor’s office is a centre of bringing people together. I will go to a Christian church if invited and even to the Mosque if invited. That does not mean I have denigrated Christians by doing so.
“If I am given any gift from there I will have to accept it. That is my perception of what a City Father is. If CCC where I come from holds a training I will still attend and receive a certificate as well. Even when invited by independent councillors like Denford Ngadziore, I still must grace their events,” he said.
He implored citizens to appreciate the City’s father’s role saying the mayor’s office is not a Center of resistance.
“But that does not mean I have become like them by doing so. So this is what it is like when you are a City father. I attended the event with other City Mayors but fortunately, their names rarely become the subject of discussions,” he added.
