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Minister Kasukuwere

Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Government is set to unveil a raft of measures aimed at restoring order and stability at Chitungwiza Municipality, which was driven into bankruptcy by officials and councillors through illegal land sales and other forms of corruption.

Several institutions have been attaching property belonging to the troubled municipality over debts with the council battling to stop the sale of its furniture and a fleet of top-of-the-range vehicles attached by Metbank over $600 000 debt emanating from the Nyatsime stands saga.

The municipality also lost a bid to stop the auctioning of its fire tenders, garbage trucks, ambulances and other properties over a $4,5 million. Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said Government was currently studying the events at Chitungwiza.

“We have noted the serious challenges facing the town and Government will do all it can to bring sustainable growth and development in Chitungwiza. Sanity has to be restored as a matter of urgency and stop the decay and rot, which has become firmly entrenched in Chitungwiza Town Council,” he said.

Chaos reigned supreme at Chitungwiza Municipality head offices on Monday as irate residents stormed the premises demanding the ouster of town clerk, Mr George Makunde and his management.

They alleged gross incompetence. The placard-waving demonstrators accused management of embezzling funds and demanded the reinstatement of director of urban planning, Mr Conrad Muchesa.

They also demanded the ouster of the human resources manager Mrs Mary Mukonyora. Riot police had to intervene as council workers were locked in offices. The demonstrators also blocked some employees from entering their offices.

In April this year Minister Kasukuwere suspended Chitungwiza Mayor Phillip Mutoti and all 24 councillors for allegedly corruptly allocating themselves tracts of land worth over $7 million.

The following month Minister Kasukuwere appointed a three-member commission led by retired civil servant Mr Madzudzo Pawadyira to preside over the dormitory town’s affairs.

The commission was instructed to clean-up the rot in the municipality after an internal audit showed that councillors and officials allocated themselves commercial and institutional stands for a song.

The commission among other forms of rot discovered that suspended councillors allocated relatives and party members free graves when they died, depriving council of $50 000 in potential revenue. This was after council passed a resolution in 2013 giving vagrants free burial sites.

Councillors reportedly manipulated the system for their own benefit. A skills audit by the commission also found out that some council employees did not have O-Levels, yet it is a prerequisite for employment.