Top officials rip off Harare City Council

KUDAKWASHE CHIBVURI

Top Harare City Council officials have turned the local authority into a feeding trough, with investigations revealing that they have established cartels that are fleecing the organisation in a well-knit operation to siphon off millions of dollars from the cash-strapped local government through dubious deals that include the US$52mn Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP), it has emerged.

This also follows a number of  suspicious transactions  including the US$200m  deal for a new billing system the cartel intended to procure at a highly inflated price from a South African firm before it was flagged by the Auditor General recently.

Several other millions of dollars have been abused by the cartels including the US$72m meant for the Morton Jaffray Waterworks that saw overpricing and purchasing of luxury vehicles that had nothing to do with the project.

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume confirmed the existence of the cartel adding that the newly appointed Commission of Inquiry by President Emmerson Mnangagwa should flag all this and bring sanity to the local authority.

He said Harare remains vulnerable to looters who have siphoned substantial sums of money.

Council is under fire for failure to provide basic services that include potable water, roads and refuse collection with individuals pocketing huge 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.

Harare Residents Trust Director Precious Shumba said it was worrying that Harare continues operating in an unprofessional manner and that the capital city continues to operate without an approved budget.

“It is incredibly unfortunate that we are almost halfway through the year without a budget. This has never occurred before, and it is a clear indication that there are individuals actively involved in looting funds from the council. How can a council possibly function without a budget?” Shumba asked rhetorically.

Shumba added that though it was positive for Mnangagwa to have set up a Commission of Inquiry, there was a need for him to push for implementation of devolution principles.

“The President should have fully granted devolution of governmental powers, as the local authority is essentially subordinated to the national government, leaving it devoid of authority and enabling the occurrence of resource mismanagement within the government.”