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Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
“Institutionalised corruption” within Harare City Council saw two land developers being allowed to sell 10 000 unserviced stands in Mabvuku and Warren Park, the council’s audit chairperson, Councillor Blessing Duma, testified yesterday before the Commission of Inquiry into the governance of the council.
President Mnangagwa in May appointed the commission, chaired by retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda, to investigate the financial affairs and operations of Harare City Council dating back to 2017.
Cllr Duma alleged that Shelter Zimbabwe and Pure Gold entered into contracts with the City of Harare to develop approximately 200ha to 300ha in Mabvuku, already reserved for residential use.
But instead of developing the stands, putting in the water and sewer mains and building the roads and storm-water drains, the developers sold the land as unserviced stands.
“If we calculate at US$10 000, which is the usual selling price per stand, it’s almost US$20 million that was realised,” Cllr Duma said.
“Shelter Zimbabwe and Pure Gold failed to perform, and on November 22, 2022, the audit committee, chaired by Councillor Charumbira, sought a legal opinion and referred the matter to the housing department.
“On February 8, 2023, the legal opinion offered two options: to terminate the contracts and find alternative developers or renegotiate with tighter terms,” he said.
Cllr Duma alleged that some top officials were working in cahoots with the developers, allowing them to sell unserviced residential stands contrary to the purpose of the development agreement.
“We do not give a developer land to sell as unserviced residential stands because the purpose of the developer is to develop residential stands.
“But now, the guys from the housing department, the principal allocation officer and the research officer Mr (Edgar) Dzehonye and Mr Bindura said in the agreement in 2020, they would allow them to sell unserviced stands.”
He told the commission that 85 unserviced stands were sold in Warren Park, adding that a syndicate within the council was hijacking housing cooperatives.
“What they do is take the cooperative numbers from poor people and allocate their own people. For Shelter Zimbabwe and Pure Gold, the contracts were cancelled by the City of Harare on August 18, 2023 but these guys, the director and his people, went on to put in an addendum which they signed without council approval.”
Cllr Duma also exposed Harare City Council’s hypocrisy saying only poor people were being denied the right to construct houses on unserviced land.
“In the locations (high density areas), they are saying that people in pay schemes and cooperatives cannot be allocated unserviced land but what was the difference between Shelter Zimbabwe and a cooperative in Budiriro that was trying to develop itself?”
Retired Justice Cheda adjourned the hearing to September 2, after Cllr Duma requested to be excused saying he wanted to attend a full council meeting.
He is expected to bring more evidence during his second day of testimony.
Online Reporter