A Town House of shame!

KUDAKWASHE CHIBVURI

Evidence being presented at the ongoing commission of inquiry probing alleged cases of mismanagement at Town House in Harare show that millions of dollars has been abused by officials, councillors and cartels running affairs of the metropolis in a development that has irked residents.

The commission of inquiry has exposed several cases of abuse of office, financial mismanagement and corruption involving millions of dollars due to leakages.

Also exposed are the looting of land by the councillors and their officials with many of them now behind bars after being convicted by the courts.

Irked by several cases of abuse of office, mismanagement and looting, President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year commissioned an inquiry and set up a team led by Retired High Court Judge, Justice Maphios Cheda that started work in May this year.

Ever since the work started, revelations have been nothing but shocking and residents are angry.

Top brass implicated

The commission has seen top names being thrown in the corruption fray with Mayor Jacob Mafume being accused of several issues including illegal allocation of land. Other councillors have also been implicated including Denford Ngadziore, Alexio Nyakudya and many others who are accused of abusing their proximity to power at Town House to loot.

Other top brass implicated in criminal activities as revealed at the commission of inquiry include Town Clerk Hosea Chisango who is in custody over his alleged involvement in the streetlight tender scandal that saw the arrest of Zanu PF Central Committee member Mike Chimombe and his accomplice Moses Mpofu.

They are implicated in a case where US$9.2m was allocated for street lights.

The crime also involved council officials Never Murerwa, Jabulani Mukomazi, Denford Zhungu, and Tawanda Mutenhabundo, all of whom are facing charges related to criminal abuse of office.

There have been discrepancies in the remittance of resources from companies linked to Harare including Rufaro Marketing, City Parking among others where suspicion is that millions of dollars may have ended in personal pockets at the expense of the local authority.

Earlier this week, there were also reports that over US$11m has been squandered in workshops, a development that has also angered residents.

Councillors stealing land

Councillors, mainly from the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) are also under fire for demanding land from leafy suburbs instead of getting from their areas of jurisdiction in a development that exposes greed on their part.

It also emerged the councillors rushed to regularise land ahead of the August 2023 elections to benefit in case they wouldn’t make it back at Town House.

Residents are not happy

“Harare is a crime scene where a lot of incompetence is sanitized yet celebrated, where even policymakers loot council resources without consequences, so we believe the Commission’s findings will put an end to this impunity,” Shumba said.

“We are following the hearings with keen interest. We have been following the evidence that is being revealed before the Commission of Inquiry and as a relevant trust, we are not really surprised at the revelation, but we are shocked at the magnitude of the same looting that is taking place within the city of Harare”

“It is really shocking because we had our doubts because the city’s systems are opaque, there is a lack of transparency, there is a lack of accountability, but we did not expect the figures to be at the level being revealed, and so we believe that the Commission has been well received by different stakeholders, particularly those who are contributing significant evidence for the final report”

“We are hoping that the findings will help reset the council operation”

Looting, suspected corruption and financial mismanagement has been at the centre of operations at Town House.

Currently, several directors including those supposed to head finance, housing, works among many others are in the dock facing several counts of corruption.

Recently, Chisango was accused of buying luxurious vehicles for his wives and properties in leafy suburbs.

The matter is still under investigation.

Other high profile personalities have already been convicted and sentenced.

Residents hope the commission of inquiry will bring to an end the grand looting.