Byo deputy mayor under investigation

Sunday News Reporter
BULAWAYO deputy mayor Councillor Gift Banda is under investigation over his recent acquisition of 3,5 hectares of land for the construction of town houses, amid revelations that the business tycoon could have bought the land for far less than its actual value. Clr Banda purchased the piece of land, in May, for $130 000, for the construction of town houses for middle and high income earners. The land is a portion of Ascot Race Course, 5km east of the Bulawayo City Centre.

According to the Bulawayo Operative Master Plan, the piece of land bought by Clr Banda is zoned for the construction of residential buildings (flats or attached dwellings).
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Cde Saviour Kasukuwere has since requested the Bulawayo City Council to furnish his ministry with details regarding the purchase after there was an outcry from residents and civil society groupings.

This comes in the backdrop of the Affirmative Action Group of Zimbabwe (AAG) Matabeleland Chapter giving the city’s mayor, Clr Martin Moyo, an ultimatum to explain Clr Banda’s purchasing of the land, alleging that this exposed the local as corrupt.
Cde Kasukuwere yesterday confirmed the inquiry.

“Yes we requested the local authority to furnish us with details so we could determine whether there were no irregularities regarding the purchase because we wouldn’t want anyone using their positions for self-enrichment,” said Minister Kasukuwere.

The Mayor, Clr Moyo also confirmed the Government’s interest in the deputy mayor’s purchase but insisted that everything was done above board.
“That purchase was above board. The Minister asked for information and was given that information but we are not worried at all because we know that everything was done according to council regulations.

“I do not even know what these people who are making noise of this purchase are thinking. There are categories of properties; commercial stands are tendered out, industrial stands you apply, residential stands you also apply. For residential stands you only go to tender if the original use was not residential, besides, most of us here have residential stands and we did not even go to tender. So what is all the hullaballoo being made about Clr Banda’s purchase?” said Clr Moyo.

The mayor further laughed off the purported ultimatum given to him by the AAG, saying no one had the power of doing such and he would not “lose sleep because of people who did not have anything to do”.

“The city council of Bulawayo or its mayor will never take an ultimatum from anyone. I do not even know what authority the AAG think they have but I consider it utmost insolence for anyone to give us an ultimatum. They can just forget and simply find something to do,” said the mayor.

Clr Banda, on the other hand, claimed people were blowing issues out of proportion, saying all the necessary procedures had been followed and there was no time that he had influenced the process.

“I am shocked why people are making a storm in a teacup. Just check the council minutes. I was not even part of the meeting when council resolved to sell me the land. I applied and when it was being discussed I recused myself as required by the law.

“As for the cost, I am not the city valuer. I did not valuate that land myself and I should emphasise it is unserviced land. Just check the local authority records and you will see that is the range of pricing for such land,” said Clr Banda.

In an interview on the sidelines of a meet-the-council meeting with BCC officials on Thursday, Cde Kasukuwere warned councils that Government would not hesitate to deal with councillors who turned themselves into land barons.

“We want to deal with these self-proclaimed land barons. It raises eyebrows that you wake up today and find a councillor suddenly has 200 stands under his name or that of his relatives. A City Father as a father of the city is there to protect residents’ assets. They are like a heart. If the heart stops the whole city dies. Now if the very people who are supposed to be protecting the city are destroying the city then they are not supposed to be in those positions.

“Let there be no corruption in these local authorities. We will not hesitate to deal with any corrupt individual. If it means even getting them arrested, we won’t hesitate. Land availability and allocation must be made public, there is nothing to hide or difficult about transparency,” said Cde Kasukuwere.

However, investigations by this publication have revealed that despite the local authority insisting that the purchase was above aboard, the property could have been heavily undervalued.

Council sources revealed that the local authority was selling medium density stands measuring between 800 and 1 000 square metres for between $12 000 and $14 000. This means Clr Banda purchased a 35 000-square metre piece of land for $130 000 instead of $490 000.

“What is happening now is that the local authority is concentrating on releasing medium density stands only so that more people can benefit instead of low density stands, which are bigger. The stands that are being released, mainly infills, measure between 800 and 1 000 square metres of which the charging is between $12 000 and $14 000 depending on size and level of servicing on the piece of land.

“As for the deputy mayor’s land, I guess the city valuer will be best to comment as he is the one who recommended the price, which was subsequently endorsed by councillors,” said the council source.

Property development experts and estate agents also confirmed that the pricing of the deputy mayor’s land was purchased at a lesser value than its actual cost.
Managing director of Bulawayo Real Estates Mr Michael Nekati said when selling land most of the time they considered the location and whether the land was serviced or not.

In a council report detailing Clr Banda’s purchase, the local authority acknowledges that the piece of land awarded to him was a prime location in an upmarket area due to its accessibility and proximity to Ascot Shopping Centre.

“The department of housing and community services commented that there are no objections subject to the usual terms and conditions of council. Furthermore the development is in sync with the adjacent housing areas. However, in future a holistic excision of land in the area will be ideal,” read part of the council minutes.

Investigations by this publication further revealed that owners of adjacent properties were not informed of the intended development of town houses as required by the local authority. Residents interviewed professed ignorance at the intended development.

“We just saw people starting to clear the land, it was only after inquiring with the workers there that we were told that the area now belongs to Gift Banda. As for the construction of town houses, I am hearing it from you now,” said a resident who declined to be named.

Contacted for comment, the local authority’s senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu was non-committal in terms of how council charged for their residential stands or town houses but said this varied in terms of cases.

“What I can tell you is that the minimum size of land that we sell for residential purposes, without sewer is 4 000 square metres while with sewer the minimum is 1 200 square metres. For cluster housing (town houses), without sewer our minimum size is 6 000 square metres while for those with sewer our minimum is 3 000 square metres.

“Please note that for the development of cluster housing such as town houses we have a minimum size of land but we do not have a maximum size,” said Mrs Mpofu.
In a one-paged petition, the AAG said it was concerned about allegations of corruption levelled against councillors and management.

“There are two issues of note which we, as an organisation, are demanding answers (and these are), firstly, under the rent-a-roof programme councillor Gift Banda, who is also the deputy mayor, was awarded 1 000 stands. Please enlighten us on how the award was carried out,” reads part of the petition.

“Secondly, there have been numerous reports on the awarding of property located in Ascot to the same councillor Gift Banda. Please advise us on the procedure through which this award was given, granted that there were no advertisements done of the same in the Press,” reads the ultimatum.

An AAG official who requested anonymity said their investigations had revealed a lot of irregularities within the local authority and they were soon going to be approaching the government to table their findings.

“Some of the things are intelligently covered like that rent-a-roof project, we found out that the deputy mayor has a huge hand in that project. We will expose them because these people are abusing their powers,” said the official.