Harare rot: Will heads ever roll at Town House?

KUDAKWASHE CHIBVURI

President Emmerson Mnangagwa two months ago received a “damning” report from the Justice Cheda Commission of Inquiry into alleged financial mismanagement and corruption at Town House in Harare amid higher expectations of heads rolling and anti-corruption bodies springing into action but to date, nothing has happened and residents fear the findings may just be one of many to gather dust in higher offices.

In June, Local Government Minister, Daniel Garwe, described Harare City Council as “rotten” due to corrupt officials and warned that heads will roll.

Residents say the silence by Mnangagwa on the matter and the “business as usual” at Town House despite exposed graft is worrying.

Reuben Akili, director of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) said the report must be made public and bodies responsible for fighting corruption must spring into action.

“If the same President who sanctioned the investigation now says he needs to wait for his own decision, I think that undermines the true remit of the President,” Akili said.

“What is crucial is that there are institutions supposed to act on the report. The report must be made public. When it’s made public, those institutions need to act on all the recommendations. Our challenge, colleagues, is that we have faced in the past; we are still weak in institutions. Some of the issues raised by the Auditor General year after year remain unaddressed by the City of Harare,” he added.

“When you look at this year, the issues raised by the Auditor General regarding the City of Harare have not been addressed. So we ask, what is the problem? Returning to the investigation commissioned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, we see that the recommendations should be acted upon by local authorities, which also relates to local government reform. This is a very important debate.”

Precious Shumba, director of the Harare Residents Trust, questioned the local government’s decision to partner with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) (ZACC) to investigate corruption while the commission had already highlighted massive corruption that remains unaddressed.

“The commission did its work, residents made submissions, various stakeholders and officials provided concrete submissions on the magnitude of corruption in the streets of Harare,” Shumba said.

“The troubling part is that the report has not been made public. It has not been shared with Parliament. Residents are left in the dark. We have been asking, but we are told it is now with the office of the president and the commission. Our major concern is that the City of Harare is making decisions that contradict the commission’s inquiry. For example, the Mayor has proposed establishing a structure to investigate these cases.”

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

Revelations from the inquiry indicated that once-thriving city enterprises, such as Rufaro Marketing, have been reduced to hollow shells due to political interference, looting, and dysfunctional billing systems. City Parking was also identified as a major source of revenue loss due to internal fraud and manipulation.

The commission heard about a toxic culture of intimidation and retaliation. Whistle-blowers, residents, and even council workers who tried to speak out were allegedly targeted by internal power cliques determined to preserve their fiefdoms.

The report, the product of months of forensic investigations, 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.

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.

A major question still hangs: Will heads roll?