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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief

GWERU City Council (GCC) officials allegedly allocated each other more than two stands against rules and regulations permitting them only one stand per person.

According to employment condition for local authority management, employees and councilors, they are only entitled to a stand each.

Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) said it is looking into the matter.

According to documents in possession of this publication, officials in the housing and community services department allegedly corruptly allocated themselves more than a stand each at a time when there is a moratorium on the selling of stands.

Also benefiting is MDC Alliance member Mr Murisi Zwizwai who paid a paltry ZW$12 437 for stand number 3042 Randolph Phase 1 which is 5407 m2 seven years after he was initially offered the stand.

On the market, a stand which is 1 000 m2 is going for about US$10 000 meaning council sold Mr Zwizwai this very big stand for less than US$120.

According to council statutes, and after receiving a stand offer letter, Mr Zwizwai was supposed to have paid a deposit with seven days.

He was supposed to be given a two-year grace period to pay for the stand before council repossessed it which it didn’t.

Mr Zwizwai made the payment on September 2.

The local authority repossessed stands for former Zimglass employees after they failed to make a commitment for the stands in 2016.

According to city of Gweru debtors billing document in possession of the Chronicle, the director of housing and community services Mr Shingirirayi Tigere allegedly got two stands in Randolph Phase 1 and Mkoba 21.

The Randolph stand number is 2463 and 6773 Senga. He had paid ZW$4 266.50 as of April 30. The total cost of the stand is ZW$10 012.28.

Mr Tigere’s assistant directors Mrs Unity Jaji is supposed to pay ZW$13 6954.90 for stand number 2475 Randolph Phase 1 account number EE24750 and has paid ZW$1 000 for stand number 13389 Mkoba 21. The grand total of the stand is ZW$1370.28.

Another assistant director Mr Manford Gambiza is supposed to pay ZW$3670.48 for stand number 13369 Mkoba 21 and has paid ZW$2820.74 towards the total cost of ZW$128574.76 for stand number 2445 in Randolph Phase 1.

The payment was made on August 31, reference number 65994.

Housing officer Mr Admire Chigayo also has two stands which are number 2497 Randolph Phase 1 which will cost him ZW$131 252.46 and house number 13238 Mkoba 21.

Mr Biggie Ngadze, a senior administration officer was allocated stand number 12144 Mkoba 21 which has a payable amount according to the debtors billing of ZW$1105.88.

He also has stand number 2478 Randolph which he has hasn’t paid anything. The total cost of the stand is ZW$135 344.90.

Mr Tigere’s secretary Mrs Emma Manyika was also allocated stand number 12603 Mkoba 21 and is supposed to pay ZW$4972.26. She has paid ZW$2853.23 towards settling the total cost of ZW$131 352.67 for stand number 2490 Randolph Phase 2.

The payment was done on August 31, reference 65950.

Contacted for comment, Mr Zwizwai said he has been paying for the stand since 2013.

“I have been paying for the stand in Gweru, that all I can say,” he said.

Mr Tigere, Mrs Jaji, Mr Gambiza, Mr Ngadze, Mr Chigayo and Mrs Manyika said they were not allowed to speak to the press as council had channels of communication.

Contacted for comment, Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe confirmed that Mr Tigere is leading in council employees and management who were allegedly corruptly abusing council resources at the expense of residents.

He said it was baffling that Mr Tigere thought of allocating himself stands without consulting anyone in council just because he is the head of the department.

Clr Makombe said the action by Mr Tigere is a clear evidence of rampant abuse of office by management at the local authority.

He said he has since instructed the internal auditor to look into the matter as a matter of urgency adding that heads are going to role at town house.

“The director of housing and community services department has four stands. It’s shocking you know. The same goes for the employees in the department of engineering services who come up with the stands. We can’t have that as it is tantamount to poor corporate governance,” said Clr Makombe.

He said Mr Tigere and others should have been allocated a stand each as part of their conditions of service and are allowed to buy any number if council is selling any land to the members of the public.

In this case, Clr Makombe said Mr Tigere and company could not have bought the stands since there is moratorium of selling of council stands.

“There is rampant abuse of office at this council and I have instructed the internal auditor to look into the matter and also the Audit Committee put this matter on the top of the agenda for their meeting on Monday,” he said.

With regards to Mr Zwizwai stand which council should have repossessed since he allegedly didn’t pay anything for seven years, Clr Makombe said he should have responded to the council offer.

He said he is not aware why the stand wasn’t repossessed just as how stands which had been allocated to former Zimglass employees were repossessed by the local authority.

“I will need to look into this matter. It’s all administrative and if we are not alerted by whistle blowers like in this case, as councillors we will be in the dark as management runs affairs of the council,” said Clr Makombe.

He said council had not sold any piece of land because of the moratorium on temporal stop of land.

“We have investors who want to invest and need land but we are not selling the land because we are following the circular on the moratorium by the Ministry. So, its uncalled for when one gets two, three, four stands, it’s no longer a condition of service and its defeating the logic and we are making investigation and heads are going to roll,” said Clr Makombe.

He said he has since engaged Zacc and the police to assist council investigate suspected abuse of council resources by members of the management.

“We approached Zacc and they said they are coming and it has been long. We have a situation where management is abusing resources and the residents will thing that it’s the councilors. We are appealing for assistance from relevant law enforcement agencies to bring order to GCC,” said Clr Makombe.

Zacc spokesperson Commissioner John Makamure said they are making a follow up and will revert back.