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Walter Nyamukondiwa Mashonaland West Bureau
NORTON legislator Mr Temba Mliswa has written to the Auditor-General, Mrs Mildred Chiri, requesting a forensic audit of the Norton Town Council’s books and dealings citing corruption and misuse of funds.

In a letter dated October 15, 2018, Mr Mliswa said several officials and councillors had been arrested or suspended on corruption-related charges.

“Norton Town Council has recently been hit by a spate of corruption allegations and irregularities that have seen three councillors, the finance director (Mr Tendaupenyu) and the director of housing (Mr Blessing Mutyambizi), either arrested or suspended from work,” he said.

“It is therefore in this light, that I hereby request your office to invoke your constitutional provision to urgently conduct a full-scale forensic audit of Norton Town Council.”

He said recommendations in previous audits had not been implemented amid revelations of absence of proper accounting systems for collected rates and licensing fees.

Mr Mliswa also alleged corrupt handling of tenders which he said had been improperly awarded amid failure to adhere budgets.

Also cited was extravagance at the expense of service delivery and failure to enforce agreements made with land developers.

The audit, he said, would come at an opportune time as there was now a new crop of councillors laying a foundation for bona fide discharge of duties in the next five years.

Police recently arrested Mr Mutyambizi and sitting councillors Muchaneta Munyeveri and Precious Mufahore for corruption.

Former councillor Mr Eager Vupenyu Takawira was also picked up.

The arrests were in connection with the allocation of stands sometime in 2014.

Mr Mliswa’s letter was copied to council chairperson Ms Matiere Gumisirayi, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, Norton Advisory Board chairman Dr Godfrey Mugaviri and Norton Residents’ Trust.