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FORMER Harare mayor Herbert Gomba and some top city council officials are being investigated over the sale to Metro Peech on land designated for recreation along Seke Road in the Sunningdale area allegedly without going through the required re-zoning procedures.
The Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU), in conjunction with the police, yesterday picked up some council officials for questioning as part of the ongoing investigations.
Head of SACU, Mr Thabani Mpofu, confirmed that investigations on the case were underway. He clarified that SACU did not have arresting powers, but has a special team of police officers that make arrests under its auspices.
The city officials are likely to appear in court soon.
It is alleged that the land where Metro Peech built its wholesale was a recreational open space, which was unprocedurally turned into a commercial zone.
There have been a number of reports of land being rezoned, or wetlands being converted to building land, and of other decisions where legal procedures were allegedly not followed.
Head of planning for council, Mrs Priscilla Charumbira, allegedly abused her position by conniving with some councillors, including former mayor Gomba, to change land use for open spaces and wetlands.
Documents seen by The Herald show that in 2016, Gomba and Mrs Charumbira presided over the allegedly illegal allocation of land to Metro Peech on the land zoned for recreation.
It is alleged that the procedures of change of use, under the Regional Town and Country Planning Act, from an open space to commercial use were not followed.
Council officials advertised the proposed sale, but the plan and the information that was provided in the advertisement allegedly did not tally, as the land was described as a commercial stand when it was an open space.
After allocating the recreational stand to the wholesaler, the same team allocated another open space along Seke Road to the SPCA, a charity organisation, without following laid down procedures.
Later, Gomba, working with Mrs Charumbira and the director of works, Mr Zvenyika Chawatama, oversaw another alleged unprocedural allocation of a wetland for the construction of a library in Glen Norah by tampering with the initial layout plans.
“The syndicate knew that it was an open space, but they went ahead with the allocation without going through the fully laid down procedure which they were very much aware of,” read the documents in part.
The three also allegedly approved the construction of two service stations along Samora Machel Avenue West in the vicinity of Harare Exhibition Park on land zoned for flats.
Using her influence, Mrs Charumbira allegedly allocated herself two acres of land at corner High Glen and Gleneagles Roads, despite the land being reserved as an open space by the local authority.
Council laws dictate that one has to apply for the change of use for such areas if they wish to use it for what was not initially planned.
Already, over a dozen Harare City Council officials, including Gomba, human resources and former housing director Matthew Marara, the city’s town planner Samuel Nyabeze and surveyor Munyaradzi Bowa, have been arrested on a string of allegations that include criminal abuse of office and corruption.
Online Reporter