Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube, Deputy Radar Editor
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has been rocked by a massive corruption scandal where 285 drums of bitumen worth over US$82 000 mysteriously vanished from the city’s Kelvin North Depot.
Councillors are now demanding the immediate dismissal of those responsible.
The loss, which also includes nine drums of Stable 60 (valued at US$2 142) and 20 drums of MC30 (worth US$6 480), has raised fresh concerns about the city’s deteriorating internal controls and procurement systems, especially at a time when residents are demanding improved road infrastructure.
The missing materials, all critical for road maintenance and rehabilitation, were reported to Western Commonage Police Station on 6 June, according to the latest council report.
According to the local authority, a litre of bitumen costs US$1,45, a litre of Stable 60 costs US$1,19 and a litre of MC30 costs US$1,62.
The theft of these essential road repair materials comes on the heels of another theft incident where a senior supervisor in the council’s ambulance services was fired for siphoning off more than 7 000 litres of diesel, valued at over US$10 000, from the same depot.
Furthermore, an audit team has released a prediction report, hinting at systemic issues within the council’s procurement and inventory management processes.
“To date, the department and chamber secretary (Mrs Sikhangele Zhou) had both produced detailed reports, while the audit team had produced a prediction report. The missing drums were reported at Western Commonage Police Station on June 6, 2025,” reads the report.
City councillors have expressed outrage, questioning how such high volumes of bitumen and fuel could disappear unnoticed.
“The chamber secretary advised that the acquisition of fuel was under the financial services, which advised that new measures had been placed and the relevant staff members had been notified to adhere to the new measures,” reads the council report.
Debating during last Wednesday’s full council meeting, councillors took a swipe at the local authority’s systems, noting that it was unacceptable that all these drums of key road repair material went missing.
The councillors noted that it was an issue of a lack of supervision, mainly within the Department of Works, under which the stolen material fell.
Councillor Melissa Mabeza, who was elected under the proportional representation quota, said this was tantamount to corruption and the responsible department should be investigated as a matter of urgency.
“We cannot have an entire institution like BCC without proper systems, given the numerous cases of corruption we have had. We cannot have all these drums going missing; clearly, this has been happening for quite a long time.
There is something wrong within this department and something has to be done,” she said.
Concurring with Clr Mabeza was the Deputy Mayor, Clr Edwin Ndlovu, who noted that the report itself was not detailed and that instead, as councillors, they should now be talking about action.
“We lack supervision and daily monitoring. 285 drums of tar missing is not child’s play; we are talking of our roads, which are dilapidated. We should not take it behind closed doors. This is a public concern, and these are public funds we are talking about,” said Clr Ndlovu.
The bitumen scandal is just the latest in a string of thefts to hit the depot.
Last month, the local authority fired its ambulance services senior supervisor, Mr Peter Dube, after finding him guilty on four charges emanating from nearly 7 000 litres of diesel worth nearly US$10 000 that went missing.
Dube (57) appeared before a three-man disciplinary committee, facing charges of misappropriation, incompetence, missing log books and tampering with the speedometer of a service vehicle.
He was dismissed on two charges and given a final written warning on the other two, according to well-placed sources privy to the development.
According to investigations, Dube allegedly abused access to council fuel depots by refuelling twice on the same day.
He would reportedly fill a council-issued Toyota Land Cruiser (registration AMB 005) at Khami Stores, drain the diesel, and then claim at Famona fuel depot that the vehicle had not yet been fuelled. Misled subordinates would then refill the vehicle.
The scam, uncovered through audits, fuel records, vehicle logbooks, and interviews with fuel attendants, resulted in the theft of 6 978 litres of diesel, prejudicing the local authority by US$10 187,88.
