Gweru mayor threatens workers

Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Bureau
GWERU Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe has warned that heads will roll at the local authority following the release of the forensic land audit report by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works which implicates some workers in corruption.

Clr Makombe said the local authority has received the forensic land audit report which will be made public this week after an investigation carried out by the parent ministry. He said the forensic land audit report would also be made public so that residents are aware of what transpired in the council land which was sold.

“We have received the report for the forensic land audit which was conducted by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. We have the document and we are going to make it public. It is a public document and residents have the right to know what came out of the report. But what I can say for now is that there were some shady land dealings. There are some dubious transactions that have been highlighted and we are going to act upon them definitely,” he said.

Clr Makombe said the forensic land audit report would also enable council to rectify mistakes made before and ensure everything is done above board.

“When we first came in, we asked the Ministry of Local Government to conduct a forensic land audit for the local authority. We wanted to start on a fresh page,” he said.

The forensic land audit was conducted last year as the local authority sought to bring sanity to the manner in which council land was being sold. Meanwhile, the local authority has given their contractors four months to finish the upgrading of Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus and Mutapa Vending Site.

“We managed to engage our informal traders and they agreed to move their things from vending markets in the Central Business District. We invited companies to do renovations for us and we contracted two contractors and activity has already started. We are coming up with a state-of-the-art and modern bus terminus. We have given them at least four months to complete the constructions,” he said.