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Minister Kasukuwere

Abigail Mawonde Herald Reporter
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere on Thursday ordered the Harare city authorities to stop corruption forthwith and concentrate on delivering services to residents in line with Zim-Asset.

The country’s economic blueprint advocates, among other things, efficient service delivery.

Minister Kasukuwere said this while addressing management and councillors during his first meeting with them since his appointment to the ministry.

“We are all aware that Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, is facing a myriad of problems ranging from a deteriorating ecological situation, serious pollution, inadequate maintenance of waste water treatment plants, poor infrastructural framework, garbage collection, dilapidated infrastructure in the CBD, deplorable state of the road infrastructure, rampant corruption and the abuse of loan facilities, poor street lighting, poor and uncoordinated housing delivery system, poor urban transport system, broken water and sanitation system and poor monitoring and enforcement of city by-laws, among others,” he said.

“The city needs to develop and this can only be achieved if everyone plays his or her part. All city entities must not be abused for personal benefits through corrupt activities while failing to deliver services to rate payers.”

Minister Kasukuwere urged city officials to abide by good corporate governance principles.

“Corruption has become deep seated in the way we do business and I would like to implore everyone to desist from corrupt practices because it will not help us,” he said.

“Corruption sucks at the heart of any effort to transform the city and undermine such efforts while loss of confidence in us by those who look to us for service delivery, who have elected us to serve them or for whom we are employed to serve.”

He said in order for Harare to achieve its vision of world class city status by 2025, there was need for a change in the mindset of both the elected representatives of the city and the executive.

The foundation should be a shared mindset to serve the city and its residents, adding that power struggles between the elected and the executive must end.

Minister Kasukuwere challenged council to provide an environment where people could freely purchase stands for development without being subjected to corrupt practices.

He also ordered council to ensure that land barons were stopped.

“You will not do it alone, we are committed as Government to put a very quick stop to this issue of land barons,” he said. “It is unacceptable. It cannot be the way we run our country where individuals make over $700 000 by selling land that does not belong to them, that is theft. “If we have councillors who are in this business, the gloves are off, we will have to engage and make sure that we sort this mess once and for all.

“We want to warn the land barons that the long arm of the law is certainly going to catch up with them.”