adminTawanda Mangoma Chiredzi Correspondent
CHIREDZI Town Council has launched investigations into a suspected scam which is likely to implicate its former employees, businesspeople and well-connected individuals who are illegally collecting rentals from its properties.
The development comes after the cash-strapped local authority on Monday sent out teams to collect rentals from defaulting tenants at its dormitory houses popularly known as Majaradha.
Chiredzi Town Chairman Councillor Francis Moyo said they deployed municipal police to deal with the tenants, some whom have defaulted for up to a year, only to discover that there are some individuals who had been collecting the money from the council properties.
“On Monday we assigned our municipal police to collect rentals at council houses but we discovered that most of the tenants were saying they paid rentals to known individuals,” said Clr Moyo.
“There was a lot of confusion as to who owned Majaradhas. Councillors had to ask council management and it was spelt out that they are owned by council as part of its income generating projects.”
Clr Moyo said council resolved to issue current occupants of the houses lease agreements as a way of improving transparency and accountability.
“Council resolved that everyone occupying these houses was to be issued with a one year lease and we did that. That move then opened a can of worms as tenants now had a written contract with council pushing them to pay rentals whilst whoever was collecting rent realised nothing,” said Clr Moyo.
United Chiredzi Residents Association Chairman Josephat Tizirai said the rot is not only at the dormitory houses but spreads even to council-owned flea markets.
“Businesspeople who have shops are also found to be having 20 or more flea market stalls which they rent out at around $50 to $100 while they pay $10 to council. This is very unfair to a small entrepreneur and must be investigated,” said Tizirai.
Clr Moyo said council was attending to matters sector by sector.
Most council properties are dilapidated and the local authority is trying to rehabilitate them so that they can add value to their operations.
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