Move to wipe out cartels commendable

The cartels pose a serious threat to the financially beleaguered Harare City Council.

We commend the local authority for taking the bold decision to dismantle the cartels that have turned the local authority into a feeding trough.

Regrettably, it has been established that high ranking officials at the Harare City Council organised into cartels   to fleece Harare City Council in a well-knit operation to siphon off millions of dollars from the cash-strapped local government through dubious deals.

Many of the deals were flagged by the Auditor General recently.

Mayor of Harare Jacob Mafume acknowledged the cartel’s existence and stated that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recently formed Commission of Inquiry ought to investigate all of this and restore order to the local government.

He claimed that looters who have taken large quantities of money from Harare are still a threat.

The council is under fire for not providing roads, potable water, or garbage collection, while some members are pocketing large sums of money.

“There are tasks that we instructed the Ministry to perform for Enterprise Resource Planning. The staff was supposed to prepare a budget. However, the entire council falls short because the cartels hold immense power. At one point, they even attempted to award a U$52m ERP contract. Thus, it becomes challenging to collaborate with such individuals in this complex situation,” Mafume lamented.

Mafume said the President should grant full authority to elected officials to fish out the cartels.

“The powers of councillors and mayors are non-executive,” Mafume added.