Online Reporter
Tafara Chibanda
HARARE Mayor Jacob Mafume says the US$1 million splashed to buy a house in Ruwa by the Council’s medical aid fund was a GRAND THEFT exercise, disguised as an investment, by the people who took part in the deal.
Mafume revealed that the title deeds of the property have not yet been received by the City of Harare.
He wondered why there was a stampede to buy a US$1 million house in Ruwa when the City’s employees, who needed treatment, were being turned away by doctors who were rejecting their Council’s medical aid cards because payment was being honoured by the Harare Municipal Medical Aid Society (HMMAS).
Mafume appeared before the Commission of Inquiry investigating the City of Harare.
The Commission wanted to understand why the medical aid society, which serves municipal workers, had spent such a large amount of money on the property while the city’s employees struggled to access medical care.
Justice Ministry Chief Director Tapiwa Godzi, who was leading evidence, asked whether Mafume’s decision to attend the HMMAS meetings constituted interference in the operations of the medical air society.
He challenged Mafume’s justification for attending the meetings, questioning why he was directly involved in what should have been an administrative matter.
“You attended these meetings, but isn’t it the role of council management to handle such transactions?” said Godzi.
Mafume said he attended HMMAS meetings to seek answers about the transaction, insisting his involvement was necessary because Council workers were being denied medical care while municipal funds were allegedly being misused.
“Workers are not getting treatment in hospitals, doctors are not accepting the medical aid, yet properties are being bought without proper documentation,” he said
“US$1 million was taken to buy a house in Ruwa and, to this day, the title deeds have not been transferred to the Council.
“Money has been paid twice. How can this be an ordinary matter?
“I did attend because US$1 million had been stolen. How can it be ordinary when people take US$1 million to buy a house in Ruwa?
“As a Mayor, I had to ask where the money had gone and why this particular house was purchased.
“This was not just any meeting, it was about financial accountability,” he said.
Mafume insisted that the scale of the issue warranted his intervention.
“US$1 million doesn’t just disappear, if council workers are being denied treatment while their money is being misused, I have a duty to ask questions,” he said.
Mathew Masinge