By Beatific Gumbwanda
A Zanu PF councillor in Chiredzi is embroiled in a brazen financial scandal after pocketing a full US$1,170 workshop allowance for a five-day event that attended only once.
Brighton Nyashadzashe Mahiya, the party’s Chiredzi Town Council Ward 7 representative, received the Transport and Subsistence allowance for a strategic management workshop in Masvingo but only made a single appearance, raising serious questions about the abuse of public funds.
The workshop, which ran from Monday, November 17, to Friday, November 21, 2025, saw all ten councilors receive the substantial package.
However, a source revealed that Mahiya only attended on Thursday, while even an unwell colleague attended the entire session.
Contacted for comment by TellZim News, Mahiya claimed that he attended for three days as he had was representing someone who had killed someone in a traffic accident despite the fact that he is not a lawyer.
“Haaaa those are just statements. I only missed the first two days as I was representing a colleague, who killed a man in a road accident, not all these hearsays,” said Mahiya.
Chiredzi Town Council Chairperson, Jameson Charumbira however said any councilor who failed to attend a meeting after receiving the allowance must return the money.
“Anyone who receives a transport and subsistence allowance and fails to attend the meeting should return the money. I am sure the paperwork for that should be processed this week,” said Charumbira.
This is not an isolated incident for Mahiya, who also previously failed to attend the Harare Agricultural Show after receiving a similar allowance.
The scandal has sparked outrage from ratepayers. Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (CHIRRA) Chairperson, Jonathan Muusha who said action should be taken if he fails to pay since he abused residents’ money.
“It’s very bad because it is costing the residents, which is a crime. The Acting Accounting Officer should take appropriate legal channels,” SAID Muusha.
Mahiya joined Chiredzi Town Council uncontested after Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) councillor, Roger Chikonye, who was the Chairperson of the local authority, was recalled by Sengezo Tshabangu together with Ward 6 councillor, Musingashari Musingashari.
