…Demands Minister to come clean on 750 ha
Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI-West Member of Parliament, Farai Musikavanhu recently challenged Minister of Local Government and Public Works, July Moyo to come clean on Chiredzi’s 750 hectare project while he bemoaned corruption by Zanu PF councilors as the reason behind the party garnering only four seats out of the six they initially held before 2018 harmonized elections.
Musikavanhu recently addressed Chiredzi vendors at their various working spaces where he opened up on the contents of the investigation report initiated in 2016 and released only this year, which directly implicated his rival, Francis Moyo who was Council Chairperson during the period, while exposing a new land scandal unfolding at the joint project between Chiredzi Town Council (CTC) and Chiredzi Rural District Council (CRDC) for urban expansion.
“Residents requested for an investigation on the anomalies in council, whose findings were kept under the carpet by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. The Second Republic under the Leadership of President Mnangagwa is moving with a zero tolerance to corruption mantra, where I also pledged to work tirelessly to get that report in order to establish whether the residents’ complaints were justified.
“Now people are worried over the 750 ha which is set to be opened soon for urban expansion. This report (Investigation report) will enable us to determine the root causes of corruption so that we will be able to correct it in the present situation. I then wrote to the Minister July Moyo after the Clerk of Court had advised me to move a motion, which I thought will put my Minister into disrepute and decided to write to him.
“I also went with the letter to the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial affairs and Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) as well as opened a case there. When I was elected, Zanu PF had six councilors out of 8 who were corrupt to the extent that in 2018 we dropped to four councilors. Saviour Kasukuwere (former minister of local government) who ordered the investigation crossed the border, the current Minister (July Moyo) also kept the report under the carpet in the Second Republic which is zero tolerant to corruption and even discovered that he is also completely dipped into the pool of corruption. I am telling you this because it is my oversight role to tell you and I have no intention to occupy July Moyo’s office because it is no longer the time to do that,” said Musikavanhu.
Full Life Open Arms Africa Investments (FLOAAI), a company which was awarded a tender through ‘unsolicited’ bidding to do a feasibility study for the development of Chiredzi’s 750 hectare project for urban expansion, is allegedly being reprimanded for fronting the interests of Minister July Moyo while depriving Chiredzi Rural and Town Councils which were jointly awarded the land.
In 2013 harmonized elections, Zanu PF got 6 out of 8 wards with councilors Francis Moyo (ward 4), who was the Chairperson, Tarusenga Makamba (ward 3), the late Samuel Mashonganyika (ward 6), The late Jester Muteyaunga (ward 2), Costen Mombe (ward 6) and Antony Mapfumo (ward 8), with Jester Muteyaunga being later replaced by Obert Ngwenya after her death while ward five’s Munyaradzi Hatinahama who was MDC councilor was replaced by Blessings Mazinyani after he was convicted and sentenced to prison.
During the 2018 harmonized elections, only four seats were retained by Zanu PF, with Obert Ngwenya (2), Liberty Macharaga (4), Josphat Nzombe (8), Blessings Mazinyani (5) managing to represent Zanu PF in the local authority and Musikavanhu is merely blaming the previous councilors’ corrupt tendencies as the reason which led them to underperform in 2018.
The investigation report of 2016 findings revealed that the local authority is not tendering high profile projects and that has led to FLOAAI, which is being represented by an alleged Pastor Godfrey Nelson Madanyaya to ‘dubiously’ get a tender to develop the 750 ha for urban expansion and has been selling undeveloped land to Tongaat Hulett employees and some civil servants without prior knowledge of both CTC and CRDC.
