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Codelia Mondela, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO yesterday held a civic service to celebrate its 74th anniversary as a city.

Speaking at the celebrations, which were held at the Large City Hall, Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said Bulawayo had evolved into a modern city with great attributes and achievements.

He said Bulawayo which was declared a city in 1943, was the country’s pride.

“Bulawayo can only be as great as its residents. Residents and churches must put the city on their daily prayer programme. We can only scale new heights if residents and council have a shared vision,” said Cllr Moyo.

He said despite the economic challenges, council was striving to provide excellent services to residents and businesses.

Cllr Moyo said the Seventh Day Adventist Church organised and facilitated this year’s celebrations with assistance from council.

According to council records, Bulawayo was declared a town on June 1, 1894.

On October 27, 1897 Bulawayo was elevated to a town council which was run by nine elected councillors under the first mayor  I H Hirschler.

“On August 16, 1979, Mr Mike Ndubiwa was appointed Town Clerk designate. He became Town Clerk in 1984, making him the first black town clerk of the city. On June 12, 1981, Mr Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu was appointed the first African mayor. It was a loss when the gallant visionary died on May 28, this year,” Cllr Moyo said.

“The city was one of the 12 finalists worldwide in the special global competition to honour local initiatives for addressing environmental and developmental challenges of the 21st century which culminated in the United Nations conference on Environment and Development that was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992,” read the record.

Bulawayo was the first municipality in the country to launch a customer service centre.

@MondelaC