Explosive corruption report handed to ED

KUDAKWASHE CHIBVURI AND ROBIN PHIRI

A firestorm is brewing at Town House after President Emmerson Mnangagwa received a damning report exposing systemic rot, entrenched corruption, and institutional collapse at Harare City Council.

The long-awaited document, the product of months of forensic investigations by a Commission of Inquiry led by retired High Court judge Justice Maphios Cheda, lays bare the scale of misgovernance engulfing Zimbabwe’s capital. According to insiders, the report recommends harsh punitive action against those implicated, shaking the corridors of power within City Hall and beyond.

“There are too many dirty hands in the cookie jar, and they are still there,” Justice Cheda declared bluntly after officially handing over the report to President Mnangagwa.

Sources close to the inquiry told Business Times that the report uncovers widespread abuse of public resources, including manipulation of council-owned firms, diversion of funds, and deliberate sabotage of governance frameworks that have rendered Harare virtually ungovernable.

Among the damning findings are suspicious transactions involving council-linked companies, with several senior officials and councillors—some still serving—identified in the report.

Prominent among the culprits are members of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who, according to multiple sources, demanded land in upscale Harare suburbs—a move seen as prioritizing personal gain over public service.

The Cheda Commission paints a grim portrait of a council captured by powerful syndicates, operating unchecked due to the absence of a functional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Without basic financial infrastructure, insiders say the City of Harare became a playground for cartels that exploited the loopholes for personal enrichment.

“City entities have become cash cows,” said a source familiar with the report, adding that councillors—many serving in an acting capacity—were “easily manipulated” by politically connected business networks.

A previous Business Times investigation had already flagged concerns over Harare Quarry, where two companies operating under its banner were allegedly siphoning millions into ghost accounts, depriving the city of critical revenue.

Meanwhile, once-thriving city enterprises such as Rufaro Marketing have been reduced to hollow shells due to political interference, looting, and broken billing systems. City Parking was also identified as a major source of leakage, with revenue lost to internal fraud and manipulation.

ERP Scandal and Culture of Retaliation

In one of the report’s most alarming findings, the Commission uncovered a botched US$57 million ERP procurement process, pursued without clearance from the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) or Treasury. The irregularities surrounding this deal exemplify what Justice Cheda labelled “deliberate sabotage” of good governance.

More chilling still were testimonies from the public hearings, where the Commission heard of a toxic culture of intimidation and retaliation. Whistleblowers, residents, and even council workers who tried to speak out were allegedly targeted by internal power cliques determined to preserve their fiefdoms.

Speaking after submitting the report, Justice Cheda emphasized that the ball is now firmly in the President’s court.

“The report belongs to His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, and he has it with him. I no longer have the report. If your memory serves you well, the President promised to be a listening President on inauguration,” he said.

He added that the Commission had fulfilled its mandate by creating a platform for Harare residents to express their grievances.

“It is the ratepayers and residents of Harare who wanted to say something. We provided them with a forum… You said what you wanted to say. We have compiled the report and we are comfortable with the report,” he said.

Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe reinforced the findings, saying Harare is emblematic of the wider decay gripping Zimbabwe’s urban councils.

“This Commission is borne out of the decay in our local authorities. Harare City Council is number one, and Bulawayo City Council is number two,” Garwe told Business Times.

Garwe also confirmed that further investigations could follow across the country’s local authorities.

“Going forward, we have made recommendations that we need to have a thorough investigation of all our urban local authorities because there is a lot of decay,” he said.

He underscored that next steps will depend on Mnangagwa’s directive.

“The President has to go through the report and give us the way forward. But we are happy that we have submitted the report to His Excellency in terms of the mandate he gave to the Commission,” Garwe said.

As the public digests the shocking revelations, pressure is mounting on Mnangagwa to respond with urgency and decisiveness. The report has ignited public outrage, renewed calls for transparency and accountability, and spotlighted Harare’s descent into dysfunction under the weight of corruption and misrule.

Whether Mnangagwa will act decisively—and whether those implicated will face justice—remains to be seen. For now, the explosive dossier sits on his desk, with the weight of a restless capital and a disillusioned public behind it.