The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata : Senior Reporter
THE MUTARE City Council was paid a paltry $500 000 by a local private land developer for the vast lucrative Beira Corridor low-density residential stand project which has the potential of raking close to $10 million.
The development has raised dust at the Civic Centre after the glaring figures were revealed recently as the local authority is now struggling to recover a $500 000 balance it is owed by Kubudirira Marketing Private Limited (KMP) for the Gateway City Project that overlooks the Forbes Border Post.
Some years back, the local authority charged the land developer $1 million as intrinsic land value for the project that has 311 low-density stands, measuring an average of 2 000 square meters each.
KMP paid council $500 000 then as deposit and the balance has not been paid up to this day despite most of the partially serviced stands having been sold to third parties at $15 per square metre.
Of the 311 stands, a whopping 148 were allegedly mortgaged to a local bank (name supplied) against a loan the land developer was allegedly advanced to service the land.
Insiders at the Civic Centre revealed this week that numerous efforts by the local authority to recover the balance over the years yielded nothing and that council was now hamstrung in its bid to repossess the land which has since been sold to third parties including the 148 stands that were mortgaged to the bank.
Acting Town Clerk, Engineer Donald Nyatoti, said on Wednesday that council was determined to recover what it is owed.
He said the local authority was holding meetings with KMP and the bank to map the way forward.
“I am just coming from a meeting with KMP over the issue you are asking about. Our priority is to recover what we are owed and we also want to see the completion of the project that has taken long. The KMP guys gave us a proposal on how they will act to issues we raised including the $500 000 and we have given them time to work on that,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from KMP general manager, Mr Wirimai Danga, were fruitless at the time of going to press as he was said to be locked up in meetings.
However, a letter written by the land developer to Mutare City Council which was gleaned by this paper, acknowledged that KMP owed council $500 000 and that the land developer was prepared to pay the debt after selling some stands at the project.
KMP said it had failed to pay the balance due to the prevailing harsh economic climate.
The Beira Corridor issue has created divisions among the city fathers and managers with some saying the vast land, though mountainous, was sold at unrealistically low prices.
Some alleged corruption as the project did not go to tender to choose the best developer to service the stands.
“This is vast land we are talking about here which was not supposed to be sold at $1 million. Yes, they made a blunder and sold that land at such low prices but council was only paid $500 000. Why is the remaining $500 000 not being paid up after all these years? We need answers here. Mere calculations will tell you that this project rakes in more than $10 million.
We are told that there are 311 stands measuring an average of 2 000 square meters each. Supposed they are being sold for $15 per metre it means that prospective home-seekers are forking out $30 000 to buy a stand. If you multiply that figure by 311 you get $9, 3million,” said an official who requested anonymity.
Mayor councillor Tatenda Nhamarare said council must recover what is owed.
“I know the issue, and council is demanding the balance. I am on my way to Masvingo but I am told that KMP had a meeting with our managers today. I have not been briefed but I will let you know when I have the details of how the meeting went down”, he said.
