Former Councilor in kombi scam

Mollet Ndebele, Sunday News Reporter
Former MDC-T councillor for Ward 29 in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, Mr Collet Ndhlovu has come under fire from residents who are accusing him of misappropriating funds that he collected from them on the pretext that he would buy commuter omnibuses to service the area.

During his tenure, Mr Ndhlovu asked residents from his ward to contribute US$10 per household to purchase commuter omnibuses that were meant to service the suburb since some of the operators were not reaching certain parts of Cowdray Park.

Residents from the suburb, some who preferred anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the scheme failed to benefit the residents as initially

They said only two commuter omnibuses were bought and they were on the road for just a month before they disappeared.
Instead of registering them as an association, Mr Ndhlovu allegedly registered them in his sons’ names.

“We paid once and two commuter omnibuses were bought, people were only transported for a month and the vehicles disappeared from the roads, he (Ndhlovu) took the commuter omnibuses to his village in Silobela where we are told they are now plying some routes there.

“We asked for our refunds but he never paid back, only a few who were persistent and aggressive enough got their money but some of us are afraid to put pressure on him because he is a very dangerous man,” said one of the residents.

Another resident said the matter was taken to court but they were still waiting for the outcome.

He said the former councillor was notorious for shady deals and at one time sold a stand to two people.

“He duped them after he sold one stand to two people, the matter has not been solved up to today,” he said.

Contacted for comment, Mr Ndhlovu denied the accusations adding that the commuter omnibuses broke down two months after they were bought.

“The commuter omnibuses were bought and they were on the road for two months and stopped working because of mechanical issues.

“The cars are not in Silobela, they are parked at some garage in town because there is no money to repair them since other community members pulled out of the project,” he said although he could not say which garage the vehicles were parked at.