adminProsper Dembedza Correspondent
Harare magistrate Mrs Victoria Mashamba has set January 14, 2020 as the trial date for Chitungwiza Municipality director of Works David Duma and his alleged accomplice, director of housing Hazel Sithole, who are facing criminal abuse of duty charges.
The charges emanate from the allocation of a commercial stand worth over $30 000 to Metalhill Investments, allegedly without following due process.
The court heard that on May 6 this year, Metalhill Investments, through one of its directors, Yeukai Mukucha, applied for a commercial stand in Chitungwiza to build a service station and directed the application to the town clerk.
It is alleged that the town clerk referred the application to Sithole for processing and due consideration in accordance with the Urban Councils Act and Chitungwiza Town Council Housing policy. The policy stipulates that any commercial stand to be sold should be subjected to a competitive bidding process.
After receiving the application, Sithole allegedly forwarded the request to Duma to plan for, inspect and avail suitable land for a service station.
The court heard that Duma was supposed to invite the department of physical planning in the then Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, the Environmental Management Agency and the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority to assess the suitability of the site. After this, he was expected to submit a report on the findings to Sithole and write a memorandum stating whether or not the land was available.
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