Chiredzi Creche owner Zhuwakina Javangwe who was arrested on November 22 on attempted murder and violation of the Education Act charges after two minors died in her car boot appeared before Masvingo High Court Judge Justice Garaishe Mawadze yesterday (November 30) and was released on ZW $ 8000 bail
Javangwe who owns Javas Day Care Creche forgot four toddlers in the boot of her Honda CRV vehicle for four hours resulting in the death of Celine Shiri and Innocentia Lynet Masungati.
She was ferrying them to the crèche with other kids when they were left in the boot only to be discovered after some hours.
The accused was ordered to deposit ZW$8000 with Clerk of Court at Chiredzi Magistrates court, continue residing at 15 Bauhina Rhodene Masvingo, not to interfere with witnesses and report at Masvingo Central Police Station every Friday.
On granting bail, the judge considered that she was not a flight risk
Yvonne Motsi of B Chipadze law chambers represented Javangwe while prosecutor Emmanuel Matose appeared for the state.
Poets in Masvingo have voiced concerns over their line of trade that seems to be slowly losing position and relevance in the performing arts scene in this modern era as compared to other forms of art like music and sport.
Abel Mauchi, a prominent Masvingo poet bemoaned their side lining and said like absence of a governing body that specifically deals with poetry is the main cause of their predicament.
“We as poets are not taken seriously, especially by relevant bodies, most poets are living in poverty while other artists in music are excelling and living large while we languish in poverty despite our contribution to the society.
“I think in the best way forward for us is to form a poets’ governing body led by poets and not just be led by people who are not directly involved with the profession.
“In this spirit, we call upon the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation to engage us in order to keep the profession alive,” said Mauchi.
Popular Masvingo contemporary poet Mambo Guramatunhu who recently launched a poetry book titled “Kumberi Takamirigwa” at Civic Centre, Masvingo on Saturday, November 20, 2021 said poetry addresses real life issues but lack of airplay is significantly shrinking their reach.
He also said unlike musicians with managers and promoters, they can organise shows and echoed Mauchi’s words of having a Poets board.
He bemoaned the absence of a Poetry Awards body to promote competition and creativity in the industry to give poets recognition and encourage writers to have faith and write more.
“We are addressing real life situations in our societies through poetry, however lack of airplay on Television and radio means the message is not getting to the masses while we sustain our families with the little we have, hoping things will improve. Musicians are leading in the arts because they have sponsors, promoters, shows and airplay while most poets do all this by themselves.
“The Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation should advocate for space for poets on bigger platforms and help in the formulation of a board specifically for poets so that we can be heard
“As it stands, we do not have an awards board in place, we are just poets with their poems,” said Guramatunhu.
A Masvingo resident Cynthia Hove said she doesn’t know any poet, as she knows not even legendslike Musaemura Zimunya, Albert Nyathi and Arnold “SoProfound” Chirimika or even Masvingo’s Abel Mauchi.
“I do not know any of the poets you just asked me, I have never seen them perform anywhere, what I know mostly in Masvingo in terms of arts and entertainment are musicians and gigs,” said Hove.
Zimbabwe National Student Union (Zinasu) has brought voter mobilization campaign to Masvingo where they held a student conference at Victoria hotel on November 25 to come up with ways and modalities to encourage people to register to vote in the 2023 harmonised elections.
The programme is running under the theme, ‘My Vote, My Voice, My Future’ and aims at making sure that every student has a duty to mobilize as many people as they can to register to vote.
Students from Great Zimbabwe, Morgenster Teachers, Mushandike Wildlife, Masvingo Polytechnic and Teachers’ colleges attended the event.
Coordinator of the event national Legal Secretary Jingani Shoko reminded other students’ significance in shaping and changing the future.
Jingani also highlighted that the campaign will not focus only on students but will use students to mobilise everyone eligible to vote to register and they are going to merge with other organizations pushing the mantra #register to vote.
“This campaign will not only focus on students to register, but we are the future and it is our task to ensure that every citizen eligible to vote has registered. I urge you to use your ability to approach citizens or even to challenge political figures to deliver their promises because what we are striving for even as we are gathered here, is change.
“We are gathered here so that together you and I can play a part in shaping and changing the future because your vote is your voice and will determine your future,” said Jingani.
Among other guests who attended the conference were Farayi ‘Cde Fatso’ Chinobva MDC-Alliance’national director in the organizing department said he will organize a student with the Party President in Masvingo
“This event is very close to my heart as it marks the first step towards change and I appreciate the efforts you are putting to ensure that every citizen is registered to vote. The last time Chamisa was here, he had an opportunity to meet people living with disabilities and this time I assure you that he is going to have an interface with students from all colleges and universities just like what he did in Bulawayo and Harare (University of Zimbabwe).
Outgoing Zinasu president Takudzwa Ngadziore who gave closing remarks called for unity amongst Zinasu members to ensure development of the union and said he was stepping down as president but the union has to move forward.
“In order to go forward as a union we need to remain united and continue to fight for the learner’s freedom. I am stepping down to further my academic ambitions among other things but the union has to go forward,” said Ngadziore.
Other modalities which were brought forward include online and physical campaigns and approaching other organizations partnering to mobilise as many people to go and register to vote, set aside political affiliations in order to get people to register and allowances for people who would be doing these campaigns.
In October Zinasu held a similar programme in Harare and is going around the provinces endorsing the ‘My Vote, My Voice, and My Future Campaign’.
The voter registration campaign comes at a time when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has suspended the mobile voter registration exercise up until February 2022.
Controversial musician Hosiah ‘Vapange’ Chipanga has said he has made numerous attempts to engage President Emmerson Mnangagwa to take heed to advice on how to govern the country following God’s revelation to him if the country is to be delivered from the current problems it is facing.
Chipanga claims that all his attempts were in vain and says God came to him in 1977 through a vision with a revelation on how the creator wanted Zimbabwean leaders to lead the country enroute to becoming light of Africa and the world.
“It was on September 13, 1977 when the holy spirit descended on me and a new world different from the current one shown to me and thereafter everything and means to live in such a new world was taught to me. It is from that time until today that I have tried to approach my country leaders on how best our Creator wants Zimbabwe to be led and become the light of Africa and the whole world.
“The vision says everything about how people should live, together with how they should be governed in the kingdom of God on earth. To the President, I would advise him on how he can tackle the problems the country is facing using God’s advice and ideology,” said Chipanga.
He said Africa inherited ‘evil system of governance’ from former colonial masters and that copying other nations will not work out.
“In other words, we as Africans inherited and still copy the evil systems of governance from our colonizers yet Zimbabwe by the Creator has a new system of governance and living reserved for it as a chosen country.
“No matter how accurate we may copy, it will not work for Zimbabwe until we discover our reserved peculiar route,” he added.
Chipanga said the current model of governance by government is more like upside down when compared to the ideal model.
His social commentary continues with the recently released hit ‘Polad’ in apparent reference to Political Actors Dialogue which encourages political players to unite for the sake of developing the nation.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has shelved the mobile voter registration blitz, that was supposed to start in December 2021 saying a number of new registrants had no national Identity Documents and were giving them until February to get them, and only then would electoral body resume the exercise.
However, citizens seeking national identity cards and birth certificates are facing challenges in acquiring the crucial documents as they are asked to book first then apply later owing to a number of challenges.
This came out at a stakeholder’s breakfast meeting on access to documents and voter registration organised by Masvingo Residence and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) at Chevron Hotel on November 24 2021.
Recently, ZEC announced that the mobile voter registration (BVR) exercise that was scheduled to be held in December have been suspended giving ample time to stakeholders to acquire national identity cards, which are required for voter registration.
In a Press Statement ZEC said that they have postponed the scheduled mobile blitz that was supposed to begin on December 06 2021 to February 2022 after they have consulted with various stakeholders.
“After consultations with other critical players on voter registration, the mobile voter registration exercise pencilled for 06 December 2021 has been postponed to February 2022. The need to uphold inclusivity, which is one of the commission’s core values, has necessitated this postponement.
“This deferment is meant to allow all eligible stakeholders to acquire national identity cards, which are required for voter registration.
“The period initially slated for the voter registration exercise would have excluded some stakeholders without national identity cards. The postponement will also give Civil Registry enough time to prepare for issuance of identity documents to a large population within a specified period,” reads the statement.
The deferred mobile registration exercise was meant to assist people in marginalised areas, those who have to walk long distances to access ZEC offices to register to vote as well as increasing the numbers of people registered to vote.
Stakeholders at the meeting however said a number of people are facing challenges to get IDs saying the registry offices are centralised and people have to fork out hard-earned cash to travel to get IDs where they will endure long queues and take days to get assistance.
“What I do not know is that, is it an issue of the amount we are paying to access the ID’s. Look there is a big problem at the Registrar’s office, an ID is very important in voter registration and once one fails to acquire it, it simply means that they cannot vote, so all begins at the registrar’s office.
“Right now acquiring a national identity card is tough and I understand that people who are going there right now are being told to come back end of December or early January.
“Centralisation is another issue affecting people to get IDs because the points where ID’s are accessed are central, up to the extent that it is difficult for someone to travel from Renco Mine where he/she uses USD $10 to and from, just to be told that they should come back in January,” said the stakeholder.
Speaking at the same event Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Masvingo Provincial Electoral Officer Zex Zirabada Pudurai said that proper documents are needed for one to be eligible to register to vote and they are trying to intensify the voter registration.
“Voter registration needs proper documents and this forum is the best because we work hand in glove with the registrar’s office and their documents are the ones that we need for voter registration.
“Voter registration is continuous and we are registering people right now. We are also intensifying our registration process, we are engaging all political parties and other stakeholders.
“We have learnt from other EMBs that we need to keep on meeting them constantly so that we can actually understand their challenges, wishes and their likes,” said Pudurai.
Various registry offices in the province are not issuing IDs with most of them reported to have malfunctioning machines.
At Zaka registry there are printer challenges and the same is said about Renco Mine registry offices and this force people from these areas to travel to Masvingo where they are booked and take some days to get IDs.
The Auditor General Mildred Chiri’s 2019 report on local authorities exposed the rot in most councils, with misappropriation of public funds taking centre stage.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) has been summoning top management in councils with outstanding issues in the report to give oral evidence, which has seen them digging up fraudulent activities that have already seen some council officials being nabbed by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and appearing in court.
Millions of dollars have been lost by councils through many leakages that include poor control systems, fraud, theft, funds misappropriation among other things which disadvantage residents who are at the receiving end of increased rates yet poor service delivery.
Most, if not all the local authorities cited have serious service delivery issues, some of which have become perennial and require urgent attention but it seems the running of operations at these institutions is largely to blame for the sorry state they are in.
Anomalies raised by the AG
In the AG’s report highlights, she mentioned that of the 59 issues she reported, 34 related to the area of governance while 25 related to service delivery, employment costs, procurement and revenue collection, all this relating mostly to misappropriation of ratepayers funds and resources which are supposed to be channeled towards service delivery.
Among other issues, Masvingo City Council, in the most recent Oral Evidence session by the PAC, was grilled over its lack of a proper lease register which captures all council rented properties.
In documents released to PAC, telecoms giant Econet Wireless was flagged as one of the leasees who allegedly had overdue lease issues, with some of the leases for its 16 base stations having expired, dating back to 2013, a fact that was disputed by Econet representative Engineer Kezito Makuni during the PAC Oral Evidence session who said their leases were up to date.
“We were not given the opportunity to respond because under normal circumstances we would have responded (when the story came out in the media). We will provide the committee (PAC) with all the documents required to clarify this issue,” Eng Makuni said.
Parliamentary portifolio Sub-Committee on Public Accounts Chairperson Dexter Nduna
PAC chairperson and legislator Dexter Nduna accused Masvingo Town Clerk Eng Mukaratirwa of trying to be the sacrificial lamb for Econet on the lease issue, as council had reportedly released documents that were not in sync with what they had initially said.
“There is a lot of inconsistencies on what the Econet manager Mr Makuni has said and what the city council has said. It then looks like Mr Mukaratirwa in the absence of information coming from him to Parliament has been made a sacrificial lamb so that he takes the punches for the big guys, who are Econet.
“We are waiting for the information, in particular the bank details (statements) the deposits according to the rentals for the bank statements and also we are waiting to see the physical documents in terms of lease agreements that are supposed to come from Masvingo Eng Mukaratirwa.
“In the absence of that we are inclined to think that there are overdue payments and there are also lease agreements that have expired,” Nduna said in an interview.
Eng Mukaratirwa on his part insisted that documents he sent to Parliament had been prepared by council acting finance director with help from Econet employees, later confirming that what Eng Makuni had told the PAC was correct.
Chiri’s report also noted a variance of $520 653 between the recomputed lease rental balance of $167 190 and the ledger balance $687 843 which she said council management could not resolve.
There are also reports that a number of council properties being rented out are not being paid for, which is shortchanging ratepayers who then have to pay increased rates while service delivery continues to deteriorate.
A council official has also been suspended and is in court for failing to bank parking fees paid in forex, which raises red flags on the council systems that prevent such from happening.
Among other systematic anomalies in the AG’s report, council did not have until 2020, a comprehensive fuel record that indicated usage and purpose, a comprehensive lease register, had a porous ledger system that is open to manipulation, all this pointing to all the money slipping through council’s systems.
Chiredzi Town Council management is under fire for using council funds to repair a vehicle that was involved in an accident with then council chairperson Francis Moyo, for an amount to the tune of US$2 595 and the vehicle was supposed to have been parked at council premises when it had the said accident.
“A review of records revealed that the Chairman had been involved in an accident with a council vehicle. It was noted that the chairman was not on council business when the accident occurred. The vehicle was supposed to be parked at the council premises as directed by the ministry in line with safeguarding assets. The council incurred a total of $2 595 in repairing the vehicle,” read part of the report.
Contacted for comment, Moyo said the issue was referred to police after a council resolution to that effect during the late Town Secretary Charles Muchatukwa’s tenure, saying he was not the one who was driving the vehicle when the accident happened.
“The accident happened on the 2016 21st February birthday celebrations of former President Robert Mugabe. I was the one who was assigned that vehicle but a council driver had it when the accident happened.
“Council got me arrested and the issue went to court and I was released. It was all about political factions as (former Zanu PF commissar Saviour) Kasukuwere sent his boys, some auditors to Chiredzi to investigate the issue saying I had had an accident in Kwekwe while on ‘Lacoste’ business.
“What happened was that I hired a bus for people from Ward 4 to go to the birthday celebrations and when they complained of hunger due to food scarcity at the celebrations, that is when I summoned the council driver who had driven councilors to Masvingo for the celebrations to come and take my vehicle so that he could take food to them and he then hit a cow on his way back,” Moyo said.
Chiredzi Acting Town Secretary Engineer Wesley Kauma was hostile when contacted for comment on the issue, saying parliament had not had an interview with them despite them having been summoned but failed to attend oral evidence sessions, after which they were threatened with contempt of Parliament.
“Who is giving you parliamentary questions when we have not attended the interviews? You should go back to whoever is feeding you information on that issue and they should give you what you wanted to get from me,”Eng Kauma said.
Eng Kauma later appeared before the PAC where he said he had the assumption that the official who authorized the transaction was former Town Secretary Charles Muchatukwa, who passed on a few months ago.
The matter was then reffered to ZACC for it to do its investigations and possibly recover all the funds that may have misappropriated on the former chairperson’s vehicle repair.
Mutare City Council, which was flagged in the AG’s report for initiating write-offs worth ZW$1 175 793 with no proper documentation in 2015 was also asked to present themselves to ZACC in another oral evidence session after failing to give the PAC satisfactory responses on issues raised.
This comes at a time when the council is continuously plagued by service delivery issues, chief among them the failure to complete the Dangamvura water project which has taken years to complete.
Earlier this year, Mutare Deputy Mayor Farai Bhiza told residents at a TellZim News engagement meeting that Mutare’s roads had become so bad that some motorists were now leaving their vehicles in the Central Business District while they hike home for fear of them being damaged by the roads.
Shurugwi Town Council had an issue in the AG’s report where they purchased two Ford Ranger vehicles worth US$79 000 for the Town Secretary and the Finance Director but had no documentary evidence to support the expenditure.
Shurugwi Town Council chairperson Cllr Walter Gwinji said he was not yet in council when the issue was raised but he had heard of the issue.
“I heard about the issue being discussed at council but I do not have full details, but I can confirm that the vehicles were for the Town Secretary and the Finance Director,” Gwinji said.
In Gweru, a number of issues were raised, among them irregular stands sale due to weak internal control systems, which saw the local authority suspending its Director of Housing and Community Services Shingirirayi Tigere earlier this year.
“(Tigere) is still on suspension and the hearing is still ongoing. I do not know when the process will end since I am not part of it,” Gweru mayor Josiah Makombe said.
Stands worth nearly $2 million were cited by the AG to have been sold by the council, against a Ministerial circular that prohibits the sale of commercial and industrial stands at concessionary rates to councilors some of whom reportedly bought discounted stands for their juvenile children.
Again, the AG could not trace the amount to the local authority’s financial statements, with councilors reportedly getting stands at a 40 percent discount and some not paying anything for the stands.
Chirumanzu Rural District Council was cited as having important posts in the council being vacant for eight years, something which definitely compromises service delivery.
“The post of Executive Officer Agriculture, Executive Officer Social Services, Admin Clerk, Driver and Lease clerk had been vacant for 8 years,” read the report.
What dominates the AG’s report are cases of poor internal controls where some local authorities lost revenue to fraud and theft, for example in Chinhoyi where a nurse at a council clinic remained on the payroll for 12 months after leaving employment.
Masvingo, Mutare, Bindura, Chinhoyi, Marondera and Gweru all had issues with poor internal controls especially on revenue collection and debt recovery but had serious service delivery issues that require those funds.
Income Generating Opportunities
Local authorities have a lot of opportunities to generate income that will ease the burden on ratepayers if they manage to innovate and make use of them.
Masvingo City Council in June this year made a resolution to move buses from the CBD to Mucheke Rank, saying they had intentions to upgrade the bus terminus on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) concept they had reportedly copied from Gweru City Council, but nothing has materialized so far.
Masvingo Mayor Collen Maboke said council had issues with public transporter Zupco, which are yet to be resolved, making it difficult for them to implement the resolution.
“We made a resolution about moving buses to Mucheke rank but we had issues with Zupco. We are targeting to renovate Mucheke rank and it is there in our 2022 budget proposal. So far, no investor has come forward and expressed interest in the BOT setup,” Maboke said.
Mucheke Bus Terminus is cited in the city council budget consultation report under investment promotion, where among other projects, council is looking for business partnership opportunities.
The bus terminus, which has potential to generate revenue for the cash strapped city council, has been lying idle for years without any meaningful efforts to revamp it.
The local authority is also renting out its Townlands Farms to farmers for amounts ranging from US$1000 to US$300 per month, with resident organizations saying these have potential to generate more income if properly utilized
Masvingo Service Delivery Residents and Rate Payers Association (MASDRA) secretary general Moses Mavhusa said his organization was not aware of the leases between council and said farmers, saying there is high probability of fraud having taken place prior to the lease agreement signing.
“What is quite interesting is that we were not aware of these leases, and we have been pushing for capital projects at the farms so that income generated there will ease the burden on ratepayers.
“We want meaningful projects at these farms, not these lease agreements that are not justifed,” Mavhusa said.
In Chiredzi, Chigarapasi Bar has been a white elephant for a long time and residents argue that there are a number of investment opportunities Chiredzi Town Council is missing.
Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association secretary general Munyaradzi Chindowe said Chigarapasi was built to finance council activities but lack of innovation on the part of council was costing them.
“Chigarapasi has the potential to finance a number of council activities if managed properly because Chiredzi does not have any other asset they can use for capital projects than this beerhall. It is the biggest not only in Zimbabwe but in the SADC region.
“We could partition it and make it a community centre for the youths who are now doing drugs because of idleness. We can also turn it into a modern shopping mall because of its size. Again, we can lease it to an investor with the capacity to give it modern standards.
“We are also appealing to government to give Chiredzi Town Council sugarcane plots so that they have capital projects that can then fund land development so that when they sell land, it would have more value,” Chindowe said.
Masvingo council beerhalls; Rujeko popularly known as ‘Marry Me’, Sarudzai, Farai, Manhede, are in a sorry state and need to be revamped to meet modern standards so that they attract investors and dignified patrons.
Anoziva Muguti
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) director Anoziva Muguti said council had failed to manage these properties and residents then have to pay more for services.
“Council confirmed that it had failed to manage the beer halls and they were not getting any meaningful revenue from those who are renting them, which equals to revenue being lost.
“We approached council after it had flighted an advert that they were letting a farm for US$500 per year and they agreed that the amount was not reasonable. All that points to revenue being lost, adding to residents and ratepayers burden,” Muguti said.
Poor revenue collection and debt recovery methods have also seen council losing millions, if not billions of dollars to ratepayers, with government departments and tertiary education institutions topping the list of institutional debtors.
Masvingo City Council Acting finance director Danister Jori said commercial, industrial and institutional total debt had ballooned to ZW$250 658 775.80 while domestic debt was currently at ZW$211 323 890. 80.
“The city will employ all means available to recover these debts taking into cognizance the fact that there is no single strategy that suits all debtors,” Jori said.
Service delivery issues
Service delivery in all councils is in a dire state, with most of them having projects that annually appear in budgets but with little to no progress especially on water and waste management, both solid and liquid.
In Harare, most residential areas go without running water for months on end, at a time when officials are appearing in court for embezzling council funds while lying to residents about service delivery.
Some of these institutions award tenders to contractors who do not deliver on their contracts and on top of losing ratepayers’ funds, service delivery is largely compromised.
Bindura Municipality awarded Pelgin Consulting Services a tender to supply a front-end-loader in December 2018, which they paid US$90 850 for, but it took years to be delivered, and it is still not clear if it eventually came.
That equipment would have made a big difference in service delivery for the local authority, but if such kind of equipment takes two years to be delivered then it leaves a lot to be desired if ever roads are going to be repaired, among other things.
Chiredzi Rural District Council also awarded Solutions Motors, which was blacklisted by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) recently, a tender to supply a Toyota Fortuner vehicle in October 2019, and the local authority is now demanding a refund after the supplier failed to deliver.
Solutions Motors has outstanding issues with Mwenezi and Karoi RDCs among other local authorities, but it kept getting recommended to these local authorities despite its poor record in supplying, all pointing to dodgy dealings in tender awarding.
The Dangamvura Water Project in Mutare has become a mantra at almost every council engagement meeting, but it still remains a pipe dream as work keeps stalling and resuming irregularly.
Perennial water woes bedevil Masvingo urban, and it has been reported that there is an estimated 40 percent loss in the water reticulation system, with council confirming that a large number of water meters are not working (26 percent of all Rujeko water meters are not working).
Eng Mukaratirwa said a council task team was carrying out surveys on water meters and the results will be published after they complete each zone.
“Confirmed 26 percent for Rujeko zone and at the moment we are in the process of purchasing water meters to replace the non-functional ones. As for other zones our Non-Revenue Water task Team is still carrying out surveys and as they complete each zone, the results will be made public,” Mukaratirwa said.
Chegutu has the same problem, where it was reported that 80 percent of the municipality’s households did not have functional water meters, while 50 percent of water distributed from the treatment plant is lost through leakages according to the AG’s report.
Masvingo residents during recent council budget consultations complained over the continuous recurrence of the Mucheke Trunk Sewer project on the budget when the project which started some years ago is far from being completed.
In the 2022 proposed Masvingo council budget, the trunk sewer project is allocated ZW$100 million from devolution funds allocated to the local authority.
About US$4 million previously went down the drain on the trunk sewer project, without much having been done except for trenches that were dug and ended up being a health hazard to residents.
The Chimusana Bridge, which has become a death trap for motorists especially during the rainy season ended up being adopted by government as part of the Beitbridge-Harare road project after council failed to raise the US$5 million needed to revamp it.
“Confirmed, Chimusana Bridge and Access Road are now part of the Beitbridge-Harare Road Project,” Eng Mukaratirwa said.
Masvingo Residents Forum (MRF) chairperson Brighton Ramusi said a lot of funds had been used on the trunk sewer project, with little progress, yet residents were once made to pay a sewer levy.
“We acknowledge that the trunk sewer project requires all attention, resources and is up there on the priority list. Resources have been and continue being poured in this project and there was nothing to show for it.
“We are saying account first. Let us know how much has been used so far,” Ramusi said.
Apart from Masvingo, waste management is at its worst in most if not all local authorities, which are failing to acquire equipment to either complete work on waste infrastructure or buying new refuse compactors.
The ZACC mandate: Toothless bulldog?
John Makamure
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has been descending on local authorities lately, but citizens are yet to see if any prosecution will take place as the anti-graft body can only arrest and hand over to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Recently, the commission was at Zaka Rural District Council where they were probing issues of corruption after a whistleblower had reported.
ZACC spokesperson Commissioner John Makamure said they had arrested several council officials across the country and will keep doing so, with many investigations still ongoing.
“We have investigated several local authorities and I can confirm that if a case has been reported to ZACC definitely we will investigate and institute investigations like we have done with many other local authorities.
“If there are any findings of criminal nature, we will then arrest perpetrators,” Makamure said.
In one of the PAC oral evidence session however, Gweru Acting Town Clerk Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe said that there were issues that they reported to the anti-graft body but were not satisfied by how they were being handled, raising eyebrows on probable continuation of corruption at the local authority despite the expulsion of alleged perpetrators.
In an interview, Chikwekwe said the person involved, former council Estates and Evaluation Manager Gibson Chingwadza was suspended pending investigations and later expelled by council for a stands scam but Chingwadza was yet to be arrested.
“A forensic land audit was done here by the parent ministry and it unearthed massive corruption by Chingwadza. We investigated and he was found guilty. He was suspended and later expelled sometime last year and we reported to ZACC. There is overwhelming evidence where he fraudulently diverted 20 stands which are non-residential.
“I believe the guy is very cunning and he might have interfered with the investigation that is probably why it’s taking too long for him to be arrested. This guy bought a house in one of the most expensive areas in Gweru, razed it to the ground whilst staying in a hotel and later built it from scratch. His lifestyle audit shows that he has no capacity to afford that and we want all council funds that were misused by him to be recovered,” Chikwekwe said.
Chikwekwe added that there is another case dragging its feet, involving a former Acting Director of Housing Unity Jaji that involves about 50 residential stands.
To top that, there has been an outcry on the speed at which perpetrators of corruption are prosecuted, which has seen some instituting counter applications at court to fight off allegations of corruption, after ZACC would have done its job of investigating and arresting.
Calls have been made to review court procedures that sometimes delay the incarceration of corrupt officials and in turn compromise ZACC’s capacity.
A total of US $150 000 could have gone down the drain at Zaka Rural District Council (RDC) following an unscrupulous tender procedure which saw the local authority paying such huge amount of money to contractors who are yet to deliver three years down the line.
The local authority is now under fire from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) that has set base in the district for close to a week now after a whistle-blower reported a number of anomalies at the institution.
ZACC spokesperson John Makamure told TellZim News that a team from the anti-graft commission was dispatched to Zaka after a report was made by a whistleblower and ZACC was now doing a systems and compliance exercise at the local authority.
“Investigations are currently underway; we are doing a systems and compliance exercise at the local authority following a report from a whistle blower,” said Makamure.
Sources within the local authority however said the main issues raised involved awarding of tenders without following due process, double allocation of stands among others.
The local authority reportedly paid Cascade Consultancy a sum of US $125 000 to design Jerera sewer system and another company, Sustiglobal US$25 000 for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) about three years ago.
Cascade Consultancy is alleged to have done the designs which were condemned by engineers from government departments like Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and other engineering departments but the RDC went on to pay for the poor designs.
“At first council had resolved to upgrade the sewer system in the few areas that had sewer connections and add a smaller section to the existing ones with the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) funds since it was not enough to do the whole of Jerera.
“However, the top management later changed and agreed to do the whole of Jerera with Cascade Consultancy being awarded the tender to do the designs and was paid US$125 000. The designs were condemned by other members of the engineering department as well as those from other government departments like ZINWA,” said the source.
Another allegation is that the local authority paid another contractor who fenced Jerera stadium without due procedure being followed.
“Recently the local authority tasked someone to fence Jerera Stadium without a tender and paid him ZW$108 000. When he came to claim the payment after finishing the work, that is when it was discovered that he had no tender documents.
“When asked by council treasury to produce tender documents he allegedly failed to even explain how he got the tender as he did not have any paperwork. The top management was called and neither of them could confirm giving him the tender but they went on to pay him regardless,” said the source.
Zaka RDC has reportedly been at loggerheads with residents over double allocation of stands. Sources said two prospective stand seekers were allocated one stand and others lost the battle to recover their money for failing to produce enough documents though there was other evidence that they purchased and paid for the stands.
During the recent full council meeting, they deliberated on the issue of stands and resolved to give one victim of the scam only identified as Dakwa, another stand after a double allocation case.
However, other councillors are said to have said the move was dangerous, as it would open floodgates to similar queries from people who had been denied reprieve.
“The full council resolved to give Mr Dakwa another stand after a double allocation scandal. However, ward 19 councillor Peter Imbayarwo told the council that the move was dangerous, and other people with similar issues would come forward and they will not be able to deny them the same treatment they would have given to Mr Dakwa when they have similar issues. There are a number of cases of double allocation some involving Mr Pise, a local business person and ward 23 Councillor Maria Rangwani,” said the source.
Another allegation involves Nyabare Park where the local authority is accused of repossessing stands for failure to develop within a very short period and giving them to their relatives.
Planning and technical services department head Simbarashe Chikwiri is alleged to have awarded his wife a stand worth US $7 700 in the area.
“Chikwiri gave his wife a stand in Nyabare Park at the expense of the general public. He has other stands but wants to continue amassing more. They are repossessing stands after a very short period for not developing and considering the prices, a number of people will not be able to develop them in time,” said the source.
Another tender was given to a company called Unibrik to rehabilitate roads in Jerera and around the district. It is reported the work was half-done with the roads still in bad state and were condemned even by the local authority’s engineering department.
“The contractor did Jerera-Cherechere, Zibwowa-Panganai and Chipfuti-Charuka roads. The roads were badly done but they went on to pay the contractor about half of the money. The roads need to be redone and the contractor also needs to go on to other roads but I am not sure if he still has the money to do so,” said the source.
Despite the shoddy job, the same contractor allegedly got another tender from council to construct Mudzara Secondary School using devolution funds.
Zaka Central Member of Parliament (MP), also ZANU PF’s Zaka District Development Committee (DDC) Vice Chairperson Davison Svuure said they were worried as MPs about the pace at which development was taking place in Zaka saying they have not commissioned anything for a long time.
He said they are worried that other districts are commissioning devolution projects but Zaka seemed to be lagging behind and people would naturally believe allegations being raised against the local authority which have attracted anti-graft body ZACC.
“I am really worried about how development is taking place in Zaka. We have not commissioned anything since the coming in of devolution funds like other districts and when we heard that ZACC is at council, there is a natural feeling that maybe there is something going on there. I am not really sure what the issues are but eagerly waiting to hear their findings and we hope they will help develop the district,” said Svuure.
Council Chairperson Cornelius Mapuranga
Contacted for comment, Zaka RDC Chairperson Cornelius Mapuranga said they are looking into the allegations and will do as recommended by ZACC.
He went on to say it was common knowledge that if an employee fails to deliver, he/she has to be disciplined or cautioned and all those found wanting, should be disciplined.
“We will do as we had been recommended to, as is the norm, if one fails to deliver as expected, measures to address the problem should be employed and that is what we are going to do,” said Mapuranga.
He however, confirmed poor service delivery saying it is the reason why residents raised complains with ZACC, but referred clarification on the actual issues to Zaka RDC Chief Executive Officer David Majaura.
“Residents expect efficient service delivery, and if that is not done residents complain and sometimes they will not know the problem we face as council but accuse us of failing them. However, on the issues of tenders and the figures you have to contact the CEO,” said Mapuranga.
Majaura acknowledged having paid the amount to Cascade consultancy saying it was only for the designs and they are yet to get more funding for the actual sewer project.
“It is true we paid close to US$125 000 but it was for consultancy and designs only. The designs were not condemned but people report what they think even if that is not true. We are yet to get more funding for the actual sewer project,” said Majaura.
He however refused to comment further on issues raised by ZACC saying the matter was still pending and will comment after the release of the final outcomes by ZACC.
He further said they were going to implement the recommendations but said other issues raised were not true since the whistle blowers were just disgruntled community members who may have personal issues with council.
On the issue of completing developmental projects, Majaura said they were not relying on devolution or other funding mechanisms but were doing a number of projects with some complete while others are almost done.
…as minority groups, vulnerable groups and ‘key priorities’ are left out
Emmanuel Chitsika
The month of October saw the nation once more engulfed in a series of meetings in form of public consultations as to how the purse for the year 2022 funds would be allocated to different areas of operations be it on the national scale or at local authority level.
Various intended expenditures were tabled alongside proposals of how to meet such expected costs in respective areas of interest.
However, both at national, provincial or local authority levels, it is the composition or incorporation of various interests of distinctive groups in society and the interests they represent that has raised more questions than answers after a series of such budget consultations.
2022 budget key priorities
The 2022 budget has seen a number of key areas or sectors being identified as part of commitment to the achievement of such issues.
A total of seven areas among them development and supporting of value added chains especially in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, optimising value in natural resources were identified, social protection, human capital development and wellbeing as well as aiming for inclusive growth and macro-economic stability.
The Zimbabwe Coalition for Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) had its list of priority areas that they felt the budget should put into consideration if at all interests of various people are to be served.
“The budget should set up women and youth funds that are inclusive in order to support cross border traders, informal sector workers and artisanal miners to recover from losses incurred during Covid-19 lockdown periods and access capital to grow their businesses and establishment of value addition chains.
“Revenue from the 2 percent remittance taxes should be used to ring fence cushioning allowances culminating in an increase towards youth and women funds. Government should put in place a disability fund that is aimed at cushioning persons living with disabilities. The disability support fund should also cater for special needs including assistive devices for those in schools,” read part of the document.
However, the selection of a few places around the country does not reflect the interests of ordinary people as those specific areas targeted would be translated into representing the general who were not even consulted.
Despite the fact that each particular area has its own issues peculiar to them, the committee decided to choose a few areas to represent others and thus the needs of one area are manipulated though on the false pretense of representing the whole area or province.
Capturing of true interests of people
In an ideal situation, the budget needs to cover the interests of the whole populace that is by ensuring total coverage to all corners of the country but the consultation process saw some few areas chosen at the expense of others.
Masvingo province has seven districts namely Bikita, Chiredzi, Chivi, Gutu, Masvingo, Mwenezi and Zaka. However the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance and Expanded Committee on Sustainable Development Goals chose only three districts in form of Bikita, Gutu and Zaka, to represent the province but arguably in terms of geographical location may have common interests. The committee might have overlooked the fact that Masvingo also boast of such areas like Chiredzi and Mwenezi that are home to some minority groups whose interests seem to be peculiar in their own right.
Finance Committee Chairperson Matthew Nyashanu (MP Buhera Central) however, insisted that the chosen districts would afford people the opportunity to input on their key priorities hence the reason for selecting a few districts.
“We selected a few districts in the province so that everyone will get the opportunity to speak on their key priorities and that is the reason why we only consulted three districts in Masvingo province.
“In most public consultations, most villagers wanted inputs for agriculture. Education was another key priority, as they wanted their children to be under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) as well as improved remuneration for teachers. Under health, most villagers wanted health workers to be well paid, construction of clinics since they are walking long distances to access health facilities while access to clean and safe water was another key area in the consultations.
Economist Caleb Gwaindepi said the fact that budget consultations have been shifted to cater for the rural populace other than the previous scenarios in which the urban elite and privileged were consulted but was quick to point out that the consultations should not be just a matter of ticking boxes but address the real issues that affect rural communities.
“The consultation of people in those areas may be good for them as the budget will cover issues that may have been previously neglected. Generally, budgets used to be done only with the consultation of urban communities, the privileged minority. If the budget is going to really be truthful of the views of the rural populace it will be good. The issue is with those doing the consultations in that are they going to consider the needs of the rural populace because priorities in urban areas differ from those in rural.
“In a rural set up people talk about such issues to do with education, primary health care for mothers and kids, provision of food security which the people are concerned with and for the budget to make any meaningful impact, they have to look into such issues. There is need not to generalize the issues like having ‘one blanket-fit-all’ by using similar questions across the divide.
“With regards to coverage of the whole province, then we have to look at differences in terms of needs between the southern, central and northern parts of the province. There was need to consider coverage of such areas like Chivi and Mwenezi. If we look at districts like Chivi and Mwenezi, the most important issue is food security because of droughts. Then the consultation committee should have looked at the case of the people in Chingwizi displaced by floods at Tugwi-Mukosi dam. What has been done to address the plight of such people? Does the budget have scope to ensure that the resettled people can have a decent living because of government intervention? That event happened at one place and it does not cover the whole province, which means for you to find a solution to such a problem, there is need to go to that particular area. Generalizing the province after visiting only three districts which may have different issues from the others, may be premature as the general view of the province may end up not being reflected,” said Gwaindepi.
Use of virtual meetings in consultations
One of the major concerns raised on the national budget consultations is the use of virtual meetings during the outreach process with its effectiveness being called into question. Radio programmes were designed in such a manner that phone-in would be supported as a channel of inputting to the budget.
Some areas are in remote regions and it would be difficult for them to communicate effectively resulting in their no or little participation to the budget because of network challenges.
Radio frequency is hard to go by in some of the regions that mean such people are left out of the process.
Receive Nyamutamba a socio-economic activist with Youth Perspective Initiative (YIP) and Action Aid in Mashonaland Central province said the budget should have catered for the interests of all people and thus giving everyone the opportunity to present own views.
“A national budget is literally an embodiment of the values and aspirations of a nation. Thus, making equal representation in budget consultations a critical element in ensuring that the priorities of all people are captured. Now, zoom meetings are a conglomeration of the elite, the technologically versant and the haves.
Venders Initiative for Socio-economic Transformation (Viset) director Samuel Wadzai also said the limited timeframe used for the consultation was not enough to capture the interests of the general populace though he however said use of virtual meetings was good in enhancing coverage.
“Our view is that the consultations were supposed to be done in such a way that there is extensive coverage of all areas. We did not see that happening and the issue of the timeframe for the consultations; we feel that there is need to ensure that there is ample time at least three months of consulting. That limited timeframe shows the nature of the product we are likely to get.
“Citizens should be given enough time to contribute to the national budget. It is our wish that in future, these consultations should be done in a comprehensive manner and covering all areas. These ones tend to neglect the rural population. Yes, virtual meetings will go a long way in ensuring enhanced reach.
“In most cases, zoom meetings are usually filled with civil society organisations. However, these are just a minute fraction of the whole nation. What about the elderly in Chikafa (Mbire district) and others without access to compatible gadgets and money? The resultant effect of such consultations is an elitist budget that says nothing of the struggles and values of our people. Thus, in that manner, zoom meetings are not serving their intended purpose,” said Nyamutamba.
Local authorities budget consultations
The consultation meeting done on November 2, 2021 at Masvingo Civic Centre was judged unfair in terms of composition of delegates with the management at town house accused of selectively choosing a few people not representative of the whole citizenry.
MCC is accused of inviting the Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC) Dr Jefta Sakupwanya and mostly Heads of council-run schools at the expense of other stakeholders and residents.
Not only was the issue of delegates composition subject to scrutiny, council management also deliberately delayed arrival at the meeting venue, an issue that irritated the few residents who had pitched up to boycott the meeting.
The meeting was postponed because of a low turnout since most of the people had left the venue after being disappointed by the council’s officials late arrival that they feel is a delaying tactic meant to frustrate them.
Masvingo Residents and Rate Payers Association (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba condemned the attitude shown by council officials by arriving late at the meeting saying it is not the first time they had done something like that.
“There is no excuse to the attitude exhibited by council officials to arrive an hour late because they will be sitting in their big air conditioned offices, drinking tea with a lot of milk doing nothing while we wait for them to attend a meeting which they have invited us to. The authorities do not take seriously these meetings, for them it is a mere formality, which they need to fast track because they have their own budget that they need to cover up for because they know how to shot-down proposals. We respect council and they should not take us as fools otherwise they are pushing us to do something which we would not want to,” said Mtimba.
Masvingo Service Delivery Residents and Rate Payers Association (MASDRA) secretary general Moses Mavhusa said the meeting was a flop and city officials deliberately decided to come late without giving them any update.
“Most of the people left after waiting for a whole hour I do not blame them ,those guys should have at least communicated if there were any delays rather than not taking us seriously,” said Mavhusa.
Two major issues propped up in the budget that is the recurrence of Mucheke Trunk Sewer project and the ZW$ 160 million allocated for capital expenditure (furniture and equipment) being the major highlights of the proposed budget that has irked residents.
While ZW $ 15 million has been set for the purchase of 1000 water meters, council decided to shelve ZW$160 million for unspecified furniture.
Rujeko high-density suburb is reportedly having 26 percent of its water meters being mal-functional but council has decided to set aside the project.
Ward 5 residents in Majange suburb of Masvingo raised concern over the inclusion of the project that they feel should have been completed long back after it started nine years ago but later abandoned just two years into the construction in 2014.
The much-hyped Mucheke Trunk Sewer project is expected to appear in the budget even up to 2023 as confirmed by Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa.
“We cannot remove it from the budget since it is not yet complete. In the 2023 budget, it will be there. The project cannot take a year to complete because council is not funding it,” argued Mukaratirwa.
However, Youth Initiative Perspective (YIP) (sponsored by Action Aid) activist Abel Sibanda said the national budget shows that resources are there, but it is a case of mismanagement taking centre stage in the budgets.
“Seeing it from my understanding that resources are available but being mismanaged, we demand that local authorities channel resources towards availability of clean water, refuse collection and proper discharge of sewage and other waste to make sure that urban areas are habitable.
“The three issues should be and rather must be the top three priorities when crafting local government budgets not only for the good function of the local authority, but for the health and well-being of residents. We always maintain that access to clean water is a right and no one should be denied that right due to improper budgeting which does not prioritise the basics and allow resource mismanagement. Local authorities with known cases of sewage spillages such as Masvingo whose main water source Lake Mutirikwi has noted to be contaminated by Auditor General in its 2019 report.
To date the 7km stretch trunk sewer project remains incomplete despite the throwing of around US$ 4 million into it prompting residents to claim the figure was thrown down the drain after Harare based ‘bogus’ Engineering firm Mutual Construction was awarded the tender to do the construction.
Mutare council is accused of failing to cater for the needs of various groups found in the city in that the 13-member budget committee excluded women groups, disabled people as well as youths.
Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA) Coordinator Jussa Kudheze said the committee lacks balance in terms of representation as the three groups of people were omitted.
“The recently selected budget committee has no representatives of young people. Thus, we can refer to it as exclusive rather that inclusive. Although the deed is done, we expect that this under-representation of women and youths must not be taken lightly and has to be corrected in the next budget cycle.
“MAYA supports the work of the budget committee. However, we hope that the committee is not red herring. There should be no interference from other offices, hence it be free to make decisions as they will be accountable to residents over the budget,” said Kudheze.
Mutare Mayor Blessing Tandi said though the issue raised might be genuine, there is no reversal as far as the consultations are concerned because of limited time they had to do the exercise.
“There is no reversal or review of the budget committee as the committee is inaugural for the city of Mutare, it might have flaws here and there but we cannot correct them as for now we are racing against to come up with budget. If we try to ratify the mistakes and errors in the committee, it will derail the whole process. We have observed the concerns and next year we can know how to compose our committee,” Tandi said.
In Mwenezi, Rutenga ward 18 residents expressed discontentment over reluctance by council to reconstruct the area’s flea markets that the local authority razed down during the early days of Covid-19.During the area’s budget consultation meeting held on November 8.
After postponement from October 20 ( due to disagreements between council and residents), some residents expressed frustration over lack of seriousness on part of council to re-construct the markets.
Jasper Mhaka a resident of Rutenga said the RDC’s budget did not clearly spell out some critical incomes generated by the local authority.
“Apart from the fact that you presented a document which is saturated with a lot of errors and omissions, next time when you come back bring a detailed budget document where we would engage constructively so that our voices clearly reach the rightful destination,” said Mhaka.
Tineyi Mapepa said the RDC also insisted on the need for the budget to cover all areas and thus the entire district.
“Although you are consulting Rutenga residents and the budget for Rutenga, you need to also give us the general overview of the budget for the whole district. What you are doing in other Wards of the district, should be known to Rutenga residents as well. When you return make sure you will also give us an overview of the whole district,” said Mapepa.
Mwenezi RDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Chivanga said budgets are specific and in the event that there were some critical issues missing in the presentation, they would be addressed.
“Budgets are specific so the one that was presented before Rutenga residents belonged to them. In the event that there were crucial issues missing with regards to revenue in that specific area that will be corrected.
“With regards to the demand for a detailed budget for the entire district, the legal position is that council report to the Committee of council and the Finance Committee of Council is the one responsible for analysing cash flows and expenditure,” said Chivanga.
The 2022 budget consultations were marred by controversial circumstances as the responsible authorities have often been accused of trying to smuggle budgets that reflect their interests and residents did not get the platforms to air their views.
In some instances, the composition of the invited guests also raised alarm.
CHIPINGE- Transport and freight service provider Swift has ploughed back to the community through a kindly gesture of donating wheel chairs and groceries to people living with disabilities in the district on November 18.
The District Social Development Coordinator applauded the initiative by the transport company and urged other organizations in Chipinge and around Zimbabwe to follow such footsteps.
“This is quite a step in the right direction by the transport company SWIFT, an act that restores humanity within the people to which we urge other organization to follow suit in copying such a gesture be it in Chipinge or around Zimbabwe,” noted Zongoro.
Chipinge SWIFT supervisor Aaron Mugiyo who officially handed over the items said that this initiative is not central to Chipinge but it is something done in communities around Zimbabwe.
“The old saying ‘give and it shall be given unto you’ stands firm with us as we extend the little that we have to those in need. This is an initiative being done around Zimbabwe, thus everywhere where there is a SWIFT depot and it is something we are proud of as a company,” said Mugiyo.
The names of those that received parcels from SWIFT are Susan Muhlauko from ward 27, Nancy Mwayemutsa ward 8, and Shakemore Mundandishi, Constance and Nomatter Sithole hailing from ward 6.
The donation ceremony held at Chipinge Government Complex saw representatives from the security department, the District Development Coordinator’s office, the District Information Officer, the Ministry of Health and Child Care, National Council for Disabled People in Zimbabwe among others.
SWIFT is a transport company that carries parcels for people to their desired destinations and has operations around Zimbabwe.
The Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development Magna Mudyiwa has encouraged the nation to engage in electricity saving practices in order to conserve the insufficient power the country currently has.
The minister made these remarks in the question-and-answer session in parliament session on November 24, 2021.
She said the public should use electricity sparingly, adopting LED lights, solar geysers and switching off idle electrical gadgets and further added that there was no law in place to convict those who are not adhering to power saving practices.
“We urge the public to get rid of the old version bulbs and adopt LED lights and install solar geysers as this does not only save the country’s electricity as a whole, but also reduce their bill,”
“As much as we encourage the public to follow energy saving methods at home and in their offices, we however, do not have a law that binds or convicts those who default, as they are the ones responsible for their electricity bill. As a ministry, we do not condone people leaving their office lights on the whole night but we can only educate them on saving power and hope that they put it into practise,” Mudyiwa said.
She said they were working with stakeholders such as Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) in educating the public on the importance of conserving power.
“We have partnered with ZETDC to launch nationwide campaigns, educating every stakeholder on the importance of adopting power saving methods and options such as green energy in the form of solar powered geysers amongst others,” added Mudyiwa.
These remarks come at a time when Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) claims they are in the process of importing 400 megawatts from Mozambique and Zambia to curb nationwide power outages that usually span over 12 hours.
Masvingo and several other local authorities like Gweru city council have been facing acute power challenges affecting the pumping of water at the pump stations as a result of the prolonged load shedding schedules.
