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As the crackdown against Harare City Council officials suspected of irregularly allocating residential and industrial stands continues, with some top officials implicated in the shady deals distancing themselves from the scam.
Harare City Council’s head of planning, Mrs Priscilla Charumbira who allegedly abused her position by conniving with some councillors, including former mayor Herbert Gomba to change land use for open spaces and wetlands, yesterday dismissed the allegations as “false and malicious”.
In a statement yesterday, Mrs Charumbira said she was not involved in the allocation of a piece of land designated for recreational facilities along Seke Road to Metro Peech and Browne Wholesalers.
She said she believed some of her colleagues, who were recently arrested were behind such false information to tarnish her image and to cover their tracks as authorities, including the Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) intensify investigations.
“The facts about this matter are as follows: In a bid to raise money for salaries which were in huge arrears, Harare City Council, through its Executive Committee, sometime in 2016 resolved to sell land to cover the salary arrears.
“A multi-disciplinary committee comprising professionals from key departments chaired by the now acting finance director Mr Ndemera was set up which was tasked to identify land for sale. The land was to be advertised through tender so that it could be sold to the highest bidder. Sites were identified and recommended by the committee resulting in advertisements in the press.
“The site in question was advertised in the first batch. A plan for the site was prepared and approved by the acting city planner Samuel Nyabezi on 15 September 2016. The sale was approved by the Finance Committee (2013-2018) on 11 July 2016. An agreement of sale was signed on 31 October 2016. A certificate from Environmental Management Agency, Licence No 8000042198, was issued on 23/03/2018,” Mrs Charumbira said.
Documents show that the three-hectare land was sold to Tullabelle Investments, represented by Andrew Sean Baker for US$517 000 and the agreement of sale was signed by former acting town clerk Josephine Ncube, ex-mayor Bernard Manyenyeni, Baker and four other witnesses.
The land plan was inspected and signed by the then city planner, Simon Nyabezi, who is already on remand.
The documents also show that the layout plan was approved and signed by Nyabezi on September 15, 2016 while the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) also issued a licence — number 8000042198 — on March 23, 2018 for the company to operate under the specified terms and conditions.
Stand 553-555 Willowvale Township depicted on layout plan TPF/WR/17 was approved on November 11, 2017 by Nyabezi.
It was also observed that stands 11119-11648 Mufakose Township depicted on layout plan TPF/WR/07/15 was also approved by Nyabezi.
The Director of Works issued an instruction on June 5, 2020 referenced F/33/069/048 after receiving a request for survey from the Director of Housing and Community Services referenced B/1/1/12 dated November 28, 2019.
Mrs Charumbira said at the time all these processes were done, she was the acting director of works while Nyabezi was the city planner, responsible for the planning portfolio and processes.
She said she was also not responsible for selling a stand to SPCA without following procedures, converting land opposite Harare Showgrounds for service stations, allowing the development of a library in a public open space in Glen Norah and allocating herself an industrial stand without following town planning procedures, among other allegations that have been raised.
Another council employee suspected to be a target of victimisation after passing information concerning wrongdoing, Belinda Kubvoruno, had an offer for a residential stand in Marlborough withdrawn under suspicious circumstances despite her having satisfied all conditions and procedures in the allocation of the stand.
Kubvoruno’s personal details were fully captured on the housing waiting list number 216/04/05 and she was invited for an interview by council after which she was successful and made part payment for the stand.
She failed to complete the stand purchase after her name went missing from records.
A junior council employee who was based at Remembrance Drive offices in Mbare died under yet to be established circumstances in June this year, days after council instituted investigations into alleged unprocedural and double allocations of stands by the Department of Housing.
On Wednesday, Harare’s acting housing director, Fani Machipisa, became the latest council official to be arrested in connection with corrupt land allocations.
Machipisa appeared in court yesterday and the matter is now pending.
Over a dozen Harare City Council officials, including former mayor Herbert Gomba, human resources and former housing director Matthew Marara, Nyabezi and surveyor Munyaradzi Bowa, have been arrested on a string of allegations that include criminal abuse of office and corruption.
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