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Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter —
Chitungwiza Municipality is demanding $7,1 million from Dr Friedrick Mabamba for the regularisation of stands he illegally parcelled out to over 4 000 home seekers when he was councillor.

Authorities at Chitungwiza Municipality have accused Dr Mabamba of frustrating efforts to regularise the stands.

Dr Mabamba (pictured right) reportedly imposed strict conditions on stand owners before he could give them clearance to regularise their stands with either council or register with the Urban Development Corporation.

The development follows a decision by Chitungwiza council to regularise more than 7 000 residential stands sold to desperate home-seekers by land barons as it seeks to boost its coffers.

Efforts by Chitungwiza Municipality to engage the stand owners directly to collect the money have hit a brick wall.

Most of the residents still owe Dr Mabamba.

Some stand owners have resisted making payments to council, arguing that they paid Dr Mabamba when they bought their stands.

Chitungwiza Town Clerk Mr George Makunde said in an interview that Dr Mabamba should pay the $7,1 million on behalf of his clients or the home-seekers should fork out the unit price per house before council could regularise their stands.

“I have told the land baron to give me $7,1 million in land sales, building plan approvals, penalties and so forth, but he has told me that he does not have the money,” he said.

“In the meantime, the stand owners want to come to have their houses regularised because they are in constant fear that their houses can be demolished by council. But they insist they have paid $5 000 to Mabamba. But we have told them that they did not pay that money to us.”

He said Dr Mabamba stopped his clients from approaching council without liquidating what they owed him.

“He is now throwing spanners (into the works),” said Mr Makunde. “These people have agreed to work directly with us, but they have some obligations to Mabamba.

“One problem is that they have been coming in small numbers, if they had come in large numbers it would be better. As council we cannot meddle in their agreement. We told them that our hands are wide open.”

Mr Makunde said the land baron menace in Chitungwiza started when former councillors parcelled themselves land as retirement packages, ostensibly to construct schools, only to subdivide the land into residential areas.

They did this in collusion with some senior council officials, he alleged. When contacted for comment, Dr Mabamba said: “Our agreement is very clear. If there is anything that ought to be paid to council, stand owners should pay it.

“We have done our work above board and I have all the documents to prove that it is above board. I am being unjustly persecuted as documents that I want to give you will show.”

Efforts by The Herald to get copies of the documents from Dr Mabamba were fruitless as his mobile phones were suddenly unreachable.