Brenna Matendere
Harare—The Mafios Cheda commission of inquiry into the affairs of the capital must broaden its focus to include central government, which is also responsible for the rot at the Harare municipality, observers have urged.
Since late last year, the commission has gathered evidence of deep-seated corruption and mismanagement at the Harare City Council dating back to 2017, grilling the mayor, senior management and other office holders.
While the commission has been applauded for its corruption-busting inquiry, there are growing concerns about its methods and motives, with critics fearing that the investigation is a witch hunt to justify the replacement of the council with a government-imposed caretaker curatorship.
Harare Residents Trust (HRT) director Precious Shumba told News Hub that the commission must not confine its focus to the municipality but extend its investigations to collaborators in central government.
Shumba maintained that national government office holders were directly and indirectly driving mismanagement and graft at the Harare council.
“While a lot of corruption has been revealed through the Cheda-led commission of inquiry, the reality is that key actors who have facilitated the deep-rooted rot are sitting in national government offices but have not been touched,” he said.
“The commission of inquiry needs to investigate the procurement of stationery and water treatment chemicals covering all suppliers so that the public establishes the real identities of the forces colluding to destroy the financial capability of the City of Harare,” added Shumba.
The HRT director blamed the failure by the municipality to fill vacancies in the finance, human capital and chamber secretary departments on the Local Government ministry.
A department falling under the ministry, the Local Government Board, has the overall responsibility to select senior managers at all councils in Zimbabwe and there have been reports in the past of such appointments being made on partisan lines.
As recently reported by News Hub, councillors at Bikita Rural District fiercely resisted the appointment of chief executive officer who had been imposed directly by the Local Government minister, Daniel Garwe, instead of the one they had recommended after interviews.
The chief executive officer, Archibald Ncube, has since taken office despite the resistance by the majority of councillors.
“The failure (to make key appointments at Harare City Council) is directly linked to the inefficiencies and corruption in the Local Government Board where recruitment and dismissal of senior council workers take place,” said Shumba.
Harare Metropolitan Residents Forum (HMREF) chairperson, Marvelous Khumalo, told this publication that the commission was skirting major issues that affect the council but involve central government.
He cited the Geo Pomona Waste Management deal which the former Local Government minister, July Moyo, imposed on council.
The deal involved wresting the Pomona dumpsite hitherto owned by the municipality and handing it over to a private company run by a ruling Zanu PF loyalist, Delish Nguwaya.
Council would arbitrarily pay millions of dollars per year to dump rubbish at the waste-to-energy project.
“The commission has done well in targeting the office of the town clerk, mayor and human capital director, but we would have loved a situation whereby it will be thorough in deals that include central government such as the Geo Pomona and water chemicals procurement (that involves central government),” he told News Hub.
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) chairperson, Reuben Akili, said the commission ought to also focus on and make recommendations for reforms in Local Government systems, adding that devolution must be implemented to sufficiently empower local authorities.
“The constitution provides for devolution but that has not happened. We are having people in central government benefiting from corrupt deals they impose on council.
“The commission needs to look at that so that central government does not impose deals like Geo Pomona. The problem is that when accountability is needed, they (national government officials) shift blame to the local authorities,” he said.
A member of the public accounts committee and member of parliament for Dzivaresekwa, Edwin Mushoriwa, also recommended an investigation of central government officials.
“Corruption at City of Harare mirrors the corruption in central government,” he said.