By Brighton Chiseva
Zaka Rural District Council (RDC) Councilors are threatening to fire the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Majaura, amidst allegations of incompetence and mismanagement following an HR Committee recomendation made recently.
The decision, made despite the issue not being on the agenda of the committee meeting is set to be executed at a full council meeting scheduled for today (April 1) with some councilors are proposing to replace Majaura with Council Admin.
Contacted for comment, Majaura told TellZim News that he could not comment on the issue and reffered questions to Maregedze.
Maregedze confirmed the recommendation by the HR committee and said they did not want to fire him but recommended for his suspension pending investigations.
“They just make recommendations to full council just like other committees, so it’s not firing, they recommended for his suspension followed by investigations in many areas they cited,” said Maregedze
However, the move was interpreted by some as Maregedze’s retaliation against Majaura, who allegedly led to her arrest by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) in October 2024.
Maregedze was acquitted of five counts of criminal abuse of duty in January 2025, with the court ruling that she had acted within council resolutions and had not abused her office.
Sources told TellZim News that Maregedze was allegedly trying to rally other councilors to support the recommendation and make it a resolution in the upcoming full council meeting initially slated for March 27 and was moved to April 1.
She was alleged to be promising US$300 to councilors to support recommend Majaura’s suspension and eventually expulsion with support from his husband who is Zanu PF Zaka District Coordinating Committee (DCC) Chairperson and Zaka South MP.
It’s not the first time that the two have been accused of bribery, as they allegedly offered $50 to councilors to elect Maregedze as council chair in 2023.
“Maregedze and her team are sending emissaries to councilors whom they feel might resist the recommendation and is offering US$300 she has support from her husband who is also using his power as DCC and MP,” said the source.
However, Maregedze scoffed at the allegations saying there was no way she could try to bribe councilors because as council chair she had power to suspend the CEO.
“I cannot be accused of bribing people because according to the RDC Act, I have the power to suspend him,” she said.
The power struggle is also linked to Zanu PF factional fights between heavyweights Chiduwa and Davies Marapira who is Zaka Central legislator and command a faction in Zaka.
Other sources who spoke to TellZim News said the infighting had already led to the resignation of the council engineer, which may affect ZINARA funds disbursement.
“The fight between the top management and Maregedze with her faction has already led to the resignantion of council engineer. Zaka RDC had a youthful and female engineer but she has tendered her resignation after failing to withstand the pressure.
“However, her resignation has detrimental effects to the localauthority as that would delay disbursement of the ZINARA Funds because they don’t release them if there is no engineer. The district dearly needed the funds as roads were damaged by the rains,” said the source.
Maregedze and Majaura have been at odds for some time, with Maregedze accusing Majaura of hindering development in the district and blocking her and other councilors from executing their duties.
The Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, intervened by appointing a Commission of Enquiry to investigate the various allegations that were raised.
The enquiry established that there were interference from councilors which affected the smooth running of the council and also ordered for retaining of committee chairpersons whom were said did not know their roles, among other recommendations.
This isn’t the first time Majaura has faced opposition from councilors, as similar threats were made in 2016 by the then-MPs, led by then Zaka Central MP Paradzai Chakona, who accused him of gross incompetence.
The current tensions between Majaura and the councilors are reportedly linked to various issues, including the council’s failure to utilize a US$200,000 water drilling rig, which has been idle for years. Maregedze also raised concerns about corruption and mismanagement of council resources.
