By Staff Reporter
A new residents’ organization, the Mbizo United Residents Association (MURA), has been formed to promote effective citizen participation in local governance and to advocate for improved service delivery in Kwekwe’s Mbizo suburb.
Speaking in an interview, MURA representative Emmanuel Nkosilathi Moyo said the association brings together residents and ratepayers of Mbizo to collectively address issues affecting their community, including access to water, refuse collection, and overall municipal accountability.
“MURA is a movement that serves as a collective voice of Mbizo residents and ratepayers who have come together to deliberate on issues to do with service delivery, local governance, and their livelihoods,” Moyo said. “We seek to strengthen or bolster effective citizen participation in local governance, focusing on matters that directly affect residents and ratepayers in Mbizo.”
Moyo said while there are other residents’ associations operating in Kwekwe and the wider Midlands province, MURA aims to complement their work by focusing exclusively on Mbizo.
“We appreciate the work being done by other residents’ associations that cover the whole of Kwekwe and Midlands,” he said. “However, as Mbizo United Residents Association, we want to complement their efforts by having a collective voice that focuses solely on Mbizo, where challenges are common and easier to mobilize around.”
He emphasized that MURA does not intend to work in isolation but rather as part of a wider network of civic organizations advocating for transparency and accountability in local government.
“We will feed into and support the existing organizations,” Moyo said. “But right now, we are calling upon all residents and ratepayers of Mbizo to come together and support this platform so that we can collectively push for better service delivery and public accountability.”
Moyo said MURA’s current focus includes mobilizing residents to participate actively in the 2026 Kwekwe City Council budget consultations, ensuring that their voices and priorities are reflected in the final financial plan.
“Our goal is to ensure that residents are informed, organized, and able to make meaningful contributions to the budget process,” he said. “That’s the motive and inspiration behind forming the Mbizo United Residents Association.”
