Zimpapers Logo

Municipal Correspondent

Some Chitungwiza councillors are parcelling out stands and making huge profits by charging in US dollars and then paying in local currency.

A Herald reporter just applied and received a backdated offer letter, plus a demand for a “processing charge”, to get proof of what is going on, despite council denials.

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

Among the stands parcelled out over the past three months alone are at least 20 stands in Unit B along Seke 2 High School perimeter wall and over 1 000 in Manyame Park, Unit A, O, P and G.

Investigations carried out by The Herald revealed that some MDC-A councillors are working in cahoots with executives to backdate offer letters for the residential and commercial stands being sold.

The land appears to be sold in US dollars, with a US dollar “processing charge” and then the actual local currency price is paid.

After parcelling out the stands, the officials allegedly charge home-seekers in US dollars and then go on to pay a paltry fee in local currency to council, prejudicing it of thousands of dollars in potential revenue.

Operating undercover, this reporter obtained an official offer letter for a residential stand.

The stamped offer letter issued in council offices was backdated to December 8 last year, long before the reporter expressed any interest or made an application. The address on the offer letter is 11227 St Mary’s, but this is non-existent.

Part of the offer letter reads, “With reference to your application to acquire a residential stand, we wish to advise you that your application has been successful. This offer is to lease stand number 11227 measuring approximately 200 square metres located in St Marys . . .”

The stand was being offered at the cost of $20 per square metre, and is valued at $4 611,50, all very low local currency prices.

Clr Darlington Musonza, who appears to be involved and is alleged to be a ring leader, then demanded US$200 upfront for processing the offer letter’s lease agreement.

Investigations showed that home-seekers are paying US$4 000 for a 200 square metres to the corrupt officials, who then pay $4 611,50 in local currency to council. The underhand dealings by Chitungwiza officials are done just opposite the town council’s head office inside some parked cars.

Sometimes the same stand is sold twice. In February, the local authority allegedly allocated MDC Zengeza East legislator Goodrich Chimbaira stand number 22247 Unit K belonging to the widow of Pascal Mukondiwa, former editor of The Sunday Mail.

The Government had to intervene and ordered council to compensate Mr Chimbaira and return the stand to Mrs Mukondiwa since the first allocation by law has priority over the second one

As of last year, almost 1 000 residential and commercial stands were sold without following prescribed procedures.

Minutes of the housing committee dated August 5, 2019 show that MDC councillors recommended that council adopts recommendations for the sale of 870 stands offered to beneficiaries from January to August 2019.

One of the resolutions contained in the minutes was that the council should “adopt the allocation of 265 commercial stands, 14 industrial stands, six institutional stands, 585 residential stands and 19 residential stands as a condition of service to councillors”.

The report said council had identified infill stands through the Department of Planning and offer letters were issued through the Department of Housing.

“Most of those on priority list were reallocations due to double allocations and some were special cases which mainly considers those on national duty like the army and the police,” read the minutes.

In July this year, Chitungwiza Municipality officials also allegedly altered a stand layout plan in Unit N Extension around the Try Again shops, before allocating a residential stand in the middle of the road in existence since 2006.

Chitungwiza Residents Trust (Chitrest) director Ms Alice Kuveya also confirmed the rot at town house, saying it must be put to a halt.

“It is true stands are sold in forex by those who have access to them and council is not benefiting at all. This is done by council officials who are selling every piece of land available including wetlands for their own benefit,” she said.

Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association acting director Mr Brighton Kanyama said the town has a serious crisis in the housing department.

Zanu PF Chitungwiza Ward 13 Clr Kevin Mutimbanyoka is on record saying of the 1 000 stands sold last year the process was done without a council resolution and the directors wanted to sanitise their dirty work.

“Corruption is killing our town and there is no service delivery to talk about while some councillors and then two directors are busy selling out stands and those on the housing waiting list are not benefiting,” he said.

Clr Mutimbanyoka said within the first three months of the suspension of Dr George Makunde in August last year, at least 150 offer letters had been issued, with the majority of the beneficiaries being MDC councillors and officials.

In an interview, Chitungwiza Mayor Clr Lovemore Maiko shot down the allegations.

“As far as we are concerned the directive (moratorium by Government to ban sell of stands) still stands and with regards to the allegation we are tasking the audit to get to the bottom of the matter. We are a law abiding citizenry and remain as such,” he said

“The issue of double allocations is a legacy issue we inherited and we are working flat out to come up with strategy to deal with the matter because it needs a holistic approach to address it.”