Tinaye Agere
Nyore Madzianike
HARARE Mayor Jacob Mafume says several properties owned by Harare City Council have vanished while some of its companies have been neglected, with no effective revival strategy in place.
He made the revelations Thursday afternoon while appearing before the commission of inquiry into the governance of Harare City Council.
The Justice Maphios Cheda-led commission heard that the city has not seen benefits from its vast real estate or its subsidiaries, including Rufaro Marketing, since 2009.
“Council is not benefitting. It is the biggest property owner after Government, but it is not benefitting at all. Properties are disappearing from City of Harare,” said Mayor Mafume.
“The properties are not being run properly in the absence of an Enterprise Resource Planning system.”
When asked why council subsidiaries are not under the city, Mayor Mafume said there wouldn’t be much gain in transferring them back into an equally chaotic system.
“You cannot transfer assets or resources to a chaotic system; you have to transform first.”
The mayor denied allegations of personal interests in Rufaro Marketing but conceded that efforts to revive the company have been unsuccessful.
He detailed the establishment of a six-member board to investigate and recommend solutions for Rufaro Marketing.
Mayor Mafume said the board has been working on implementing these recommendations following a three-month inquiry.
Online Reporter