Unmasking the rot at City of Harare  

Edgar Gweshe

Harare—In May 2024, President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed a commission of inquiry into financial and corporate mismanagement at Harare City Council.

Led by a retired High Court judge, Maphios Cheda, the commission was tasked with probing the council’s operations since 2017, in a bid to expose corruption and mismanagement that have plagued the city.

But while the local authority’s failings are clear, critics argue that the central government’s interference is exacerbating the crisis, undermining efforts to deliver essential services to Harare’s residents.

The commission’s focus is to uncover the corruption and financial mismanagement that have hindered service delivery in Zimbabwe’s capital.

Harare’s poor service record, from water shortages to inadequate waste management, has long been attributed to internal mismanagement, but evidence points to deeper systemic issues.

Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe, in his assessment of the city’s governance, has labelled Harare’s operations as “rotten and corrupt.”

This came after revelations in 2024, when the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) exposed serious lapses in accountability, including lack of proper accounting systems, which facilitated the misappropriation of city funds.

Testimonies during the commission of inquiry proceedings further highlight Harare’s chronic dysfunction.

The Harare town clerk, Hosiah Chisango, admitted that the city operated without basic financial infrastructure, opening the door for widespread corruption.

Environmental committee chairperson, Cecilia Chimbiri, highlighted “lazy leadership” as a key barrier to effective service delivery, yet also revealed alarming gaps in knowledge, such as her unfamiliarity with the value of Harare’s wetlands.

More troubling are the allegations of land corruption, unplanned settlements  and unaddressed infrastructural problems, which continue to hamper Harare’s progress.

Former mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni emphasises the need for proper devolution as enshrined in Zimbabwe’s constitution.

In accordance with Section 264(2) of the constitution, devolution is meant to “give powers of local governance to the people and enhance their participation in the exercise of the powers of the state and in making decisions affecting them”.

This would promote democratic, effective, transparent, accountable and coherent government while also recognising the right of communities to manage their own affairs and realise local development.

Manyenyeni argues that central government interference in local governance, rather than supporting devolved management, has exacerbated Harare’s challenges.

“Until the key fundamentals are in place and until power and willpower are in the same hands, performance will remain a dream.

“The key ingredients to deliver a functional council are all in deficit so we are going nowhere,” Manyenyeni told Newshub.

In the same vein Local Governance Trust (LGT) programmes officer, Tapuwa Nyamukapa, insists that Harare’s challenges are compounded by interference from the central government.

“The City of Harare is facing numerous operational difficulties. It often must wait a long time for the Local Government ministry to approve its budget, while it is also struggling with recent fluctuations in currency,” Nyamukapa told NewsHub.

“Additionally, the local government is dealing with considerable debts owed by the government, and ordinary citizens.

“These challenges have weakened the city council and led to a discouraged workforce that occasionally receives its pay cheques late or earns salaries that are not competitive,” added Nyamukapa,

Reuben Akili, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) director, blamed the central government for hindering the full implementation of devolution, a key constitutional provision designed to empower local authorities.

He said that Harare did not operate in isolation, but within a struggling economy, compounded by constant government interference.

“The local authority does not operate in a vacuum. It is operating in an economy that is poorly performing and, also, there has been perpetual interference by the central government in the affairs of the local authority.

“We have seen the imposition of the Pomona deal on Harare, the Belarus fire tenders deal and the current water privatisation framework which is imposed and there is no citizen participation in these issues,” said Akili.

“Issues relating to employment of senior officials have been the role of the central government alone.

“The rot is not only within the local authority. When local authorities fail, it also shows that the ministry is failing.

“We are not exonerating the corrupt tendencies and incompetence within the City of Harare but again, this is shared gross incompetence,” added Akili.

However, some argue that the central government’s interference is not solely to blame.

Lawrence Kuleya, Harare provincial coordinator for the Zimbabwe Combined Residents and Ratepayers Association (ZICORRA), attributes the crisis primarily to corruption within the city council itself.

“The current commission…has been shown that the level of corruption implicating councillors and council officials is extreme in the city’s operations,” said Kuleya.

Mayor Jacob Mafume has expressed frustration over the council’s crippling debt, much of which is by government entities and parastatals, further compounding the city’s financial woes.

He also points to ongoing government interference as a primary obstacle to effective governance.

As the commission of inquiry prepares to deliver its findings, it is clear that Harare’s woes are a product of both internal corruption and external interference.

Until both factors are addressed, the city’s dream of transformation remains far out of reach.