No corruption in Willowvale flats allocation, says Mutsekwa

He was responding to the first report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and National Housing on Phase 11 Willowvale Housing Projects.
Minister Mutsekwa denied assertions by the committee that the project was meant for the poor. He said the project was implemented on a commercial basis as contained in the agreement between Government and the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe.
“The vetting of candidates is an on-going process and not an event considering that we need to approach the respective local authority and the Deeds Office. In the event that we subsequently discover that some beneficiaries did not meet the requirements we can still deal with them as per clause 14.1,” he said.
The clause states that false declaration by an individual that they do not own any other property would result in cancellation of the agreement of sale.
He cited a case in which some agreements had been cancelled because the persons had made false declarations while in some the beneficiaries were minors. On allegations of corruption, Minister Mutsekwa said there was no evidence to substantiate these claims.
“I am disturbed by the use of the word corruption in the report, which according to my definition means an act or practice of giving or accepting a bribe or moral pervasion of integrity.
“There is no substantial information to back up this allegation,” he said.
The minister said the programme was established in 2010 with Government setting aside US$25 million to create the National Housing Development Loan Facility drawn from the International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights to Zimbabwe.  He said the money was set aside as a Revolving Fund targeting people who could afford. The ministry, IBDZ, local authorities and other private players would then identify suitable land for development and provide on-site infrastructure. Minister Mutsekwa said some of the projects identified included Willowvale Phase 11, Mbizo 22 in Kwekwe, Chikanga in Mutare, Lower Paradise in Marondera, Parklands in Bulawayo while four other projects in Chiredzi, Masvingo, Gwanda and Makonde had been identified for possible development. He said the disparities in deposit paid were a result of affordability.
“Some of the civil servants who were nominated by their ministries could and afford were given first preference to pay the commercial deposit of US$10 000. This explains why we have civil servants who paid different deposits of US$3 600 and US$10 000,” he said.
In its report the committee urged Government to reverse the allocation of the flats saying the criteria excluded the intended beneficiaries, the poor and civil servants. The committee also questioned the existence of children some of them as young as 10 years on the beneficiaries’ list.