adminYeukai Karengezeka Municipal Correspondent
Chitungwiza Municipality has resumed the regularisation of illegal properties that had sprouted around the town a few months after they had discontinued it under unclear circumstances, an official has said.
In a statement, Chitungwiza acting town clerk Engineer David Duma said regularisation commenced on Monday, though residents were expressing mixed feelings over the exercise.
“Please be advised that contrary to the rumours and recent public pronouncements by some council representatives regularisation is commencing this week on Monday morning, all houses that can be regularised will be regularised,” he said.
“We have no intention of demolishing houses and we will do our utmost best to accommodate most if not all of our residents where they are not in violation of some planning principles.”
Eng Duma advised residents to visit their district offices for regularisation and ensure that their properties are processed for inclusion on the council database.
Initially, the local authority in its 2019 budget had budgeted to regularise at least 7 000 properties, but only a handful of people responded to the call.
Meanwhile, Chitungwiza municipality has appointed its legal officer Mr Raymond Wenyeve as the new acting chamber secretary with immediate effect following a council resolution that was passed last Friday.
Before the new development, Human resources director Mrs Mary Mukonyora was the acting chamber secretary since July 2018, following the resignation of Mrs Charity Maunga.
According to a letter in possession of this publication, Mr Wenyeve was appointed by Engineer Duma.
“Be pleased to take notice that on Friday the 27th September 2019 the council of Chitungwiza Municipality in its 459th ordinary meeting held in the council chambers, resolved that the acting town clerk shall appoint an acting chamber secretary who has legal qualifications since the chamber secretary is the chief legal advisor of the municipalities.
“You are hereby appointed to act as chamber secretary until a substantive chamber secretary is appointed by the municipality in terms of the Urban Council’s Act. Your appointment is with immediate effect from the 30th of September 2019,” read the letter.
Sources at the council said councillors were unhappy with the increase in labour cases that council was losing at the courts and the fact that Mrs Mukonyora did not have law qualifications.
All the developments are taking place during the suspension period of the substantive town clerk Dr George Makunde, whose hearing on allegations of incompetence and abuse of office are still underway and Eng Duma too has a pending court case where he is facing allegations of abuse of office.
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