The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
AS gerrymandering continues within the corridors of power at Mutare City Council where feuding MDC Alliance councillors — some aligned to Mr Nelson Chamisa, while others are devoted to Mr Douglas Mwonzora — are plotting against each other on a daily basis, the local authority is losing substantial amounts of money.
Only recently, the city lost $500 000 which was paid to a local hotel where interviews for a new Town Clerk were supposed to be conducted.
After the abrupt cancellation of the interviews which was made three hours before schedule, the hotelier is understood to have refused to refund the local authority.
Recently, City of Mutare lost an undisclosed amount of money when a group of managers and councillors travelled and slept in Harare for a meeting that had already been cancelled.
The shocking trend of sheer waste of resources at City of Mutare came to light during a Press Club session organised by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) in Mutare last week on Friday.
In his response to questions raised by journalists during the session, United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers’ Trust programmes manager, Mr Edson Dube said the madness at City of Murate should not be allowed to continue.
“We are aware that $500 000 was lost on Monday after City of Mutare had paid for expenses for the interviews for a substantial Town Clerk. We are informed that the hotelier refused to refund after the interviews were cancelled three hours before time.
“This is really disturbing. If the local authority can lose such an amount in less than a day due to something that could have been averted by a simple phone call, how much more are they losing in many other shady transactions we might not be aware of,” he said.
Mr Dube added that the appointment of a commission to run the affairs of the city could be a better option.
“How can you have one person suspended by the mayor today and the same person is reinstated the next day by the deputy? They are having multiple special council meetings week in week out, and that only shows you that the house is on fire.
“Surely this situation cannot be allowed to prevail. There has to be an end to all this madness. This is the reason we are saying the coming in of a Commission to run the affairs of the city could be a better devil,” said Mr Dube.
In his responses to questions during the same session, Councillor Thomas Nyamupanedengu confirmed that the interviews that were scheduled last week were cancelled on the last minute after all expenses had been paid.
Councillor Nyamupanedengu also confirmed that members of the local authority’s management travelled to Harare for a meeting that had already been cancelled.
“The situation at Mutare City Council is pathetic, to say the least. People are making decision based on who they support. The Acting Town Clerk (Engineer Tinashe Mtetwa) who was suspended by the mayor is back at work after an abrupt rescission of that decision by the deputy mayor. This also culminated into the abrupt cancellation of interviews that were scheduled for Monday. This could be one of the charges that could be laid against the Acting Town Clerk when disciplinary proceedings start since he cancelled the interviews under unclear circumstances.
“We even have managers who travelled to Harare where all their expenses paid for and only to be told when already in Harare that the meeting had been cancelled. If proper investigations are done someone might be held accountable for not informing those who travelled well before they did so and avert revenue loss,” said the long serving Ward One councillor.
Mutare Informal Traders Association (MITA) president, Mr Itai Karipire, who was one of the panellists during the Press Club session, said: “We are aware that all the confusion at City of Mutate is all because the councillors are busy looting, while managers are also positioning themselves in cahoots with the councillors they support. It is like a game of chess. People are busy fighting for their personal interests while service delivery is being neglected.”
When contacted for comment on the recent $500 000 lost after interviews were cancelled on the last minute, Mutare Mayor, Councillor Blessing Tandi said: “I think if there is a cost, then the Acting Town Clerk is liable. Those are some of the issues to be addressed, but am yet to get a report from the finance committee on the issue. On the same note, recoveries can be done from finance administratively.”
‘Suspended’ Acting Town Clerk, Engineer Mtetwa said: “I am being persecuted for upholding tenets of good corporate governance and laws governing local authorities. I instructed the cancellation of the interviews simply because the procedures taken from the short-listing of the candidates was not in tandem with the Minister of Local Government and Public Works’ circular of 2017.
“Councillors are not supposed to be part of the interviewing panel. The chairman of the General Purposes Committee is the one who can attend the short-listing an interviews as an observer. In this case, the mayor and other councillors were among the panellists.
“This is the reason why I as the accounting officer of the local authority was obliged to stop the process. I even went on to direct the Financial Director to stop paying for the expenses of those interviews and if anything was paid, I had instructed them to recover the money. Therefore, I am not sure why I am being subjected to disciplinary charges for doing the right thing.”
