The sale of non-existent residential stands and double
allocation of land in Nyatsime backfired on Chitungwiza Municipality yesterday
when the Sheriff of the High Court attached and removed at least seven
top-of-the-range vehicles and cleared the local authority’s head office of all
furniture.
Chitungwiza sold stands to Metropolitan Bank in 2007 in Nyatsime.
The bank later realised that the allocation was chaotic since some people had
been allocated the same piece of land.
Met Bank paid $1 027 000 for 63 000 square metres of land,
but the stands were never properly allocated. Chitungwiza repaid part of the
money, leaving an outstanding $600 000.
Currently, Nyatsime is literally a war zone where people
who genuinely paid for stands are being chased away by illegal settlers.
Despite having
received millions of dollars from desperate home-seekers who were on its
waiting list, Chitungwiza has taken an armchair approach to the dispute.
Met Bank successfully sued Chitungwiza Municipality for
fraud. The Sheriff of the High Court yesterday took away property worth
thousands of dollars in a bid to recover $600 000 the local authority owes
Metropolitan Bank.
Only four computers and a server in the revenue office were
spared to allow the municipality to collect money from residents.
Seven vehicles belonging to directors, including a number
of Toyota Fortuners, Prados and a Nissan Hardbody were removed from the council
premises and driven to Revelation Auctions and KM Auctions.
Offices of the Town Clerk, Chamber Secretary, Finance
Director and the Department of Health were the most affected. They were left empty. Business came to a halt
as the Sheriff took almost everything.
The auction date is yet to be announced. By midday, council
operations had been crippled with most workers leaving for their respective
homes.
In the housing department, official files could be seen
lying on the floor after the Sheriff had taken away the filing cabinets.
Sources said the municipal traffic department officers had
to hide Toyota Hilux tow away vehicles that are used to arrest motorists who
misbehave on the roads.
A host of other property has since been attached but yet to
be removed from council premises.
The attached property include fire tenders, a Land Rover
Defender, front end loaders, Toyota Hilux D4D tow away vehicles, two Mitsubishi
Lancer vehicles, A Hyundai, Ford Ranger truck and a Nissan Diesel (UD) truck.
Meanwhile, Harare City Council (HCC) has taken Chitungwiza
Municipality to the High Court over an outstanding water bill amounting to $7,2
million.
The two local authorities entered an agreement in which HCC
would supply treated water to Chitungwiza daily.
Chitungwiza would then sell the water to its residents. In
terms of the agreement, Chitungwiza would be billed for the water supplied
monthly and it was expected to pay the bills religiously.
Chitungwiza allegedly breached the agreement resulting in
HCC lawyers Honey & Blanckenberg instituting legal proceedings to recover
the debt.
The cash-strapped municipality owes its workers millions of
dollars and it has, over the years, failed to pay up.
Other individual labour suits are still pending in court.
Herald
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