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Blessings Chidakwa

Municipal Reporter

Chitungwiza Municipality continues to parcel out residential and commercial stands on unsuitable land, including over sewer lines and under Zesa lines, despite being ordered to halt all land allocation.

Last year, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works ordered Chitungwiza Municipality to stop selling stands following a series of alleged illegal dealings, a directive the authorities are flouting.

The latest wave of stand allocations has seen an increase in the number of business stands being parcelled out.

A business stand allocated at Zengeza 4 shopping centre, Pagomba area, had a foundation dug over Zesa cables and a sewer line.

Interestingly, the ‘yet to be identified’ owner of the stand was given the nod to dig the foundation, despite being aware that there is a Zesa cable and a sewer line, which run under the                     foundation.

At St Mary’s Chigovanyika area, another business stand was allocated and construction was over an existing storm water drain.

The local authority yesterday professed ignorance over the allocation of the stands.

“Investigations are currently underway to determine how the individuals could have acquired those stands,” Chitungwiza Municipality public relations officer Mr Lovemore Meya said.

Barely three months ago, The Herald exposed Chitungwiza councillors making huge profits by selling stands in US dollars that they bought cheaply from council in local currency.

The councillors were then furnishing the buyers with backdated offer letters to circumvent the Government moratorium banning the sale of stands.

The scheme was uncovered by one of the newspaper reporters, who applied and received a backdated offer letter, plus a demand for a “processing charge”.

Investigations further revealed that MDC-A councillors were working in cahoots with executives to backdate offer letters for the residential and commercial stands being sold.