Gokwe Council offices |
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has
commenced a probe into a raft of allegations of corruption at the Gokwe Town
Council (GTC) where former Local Government minister, Saviour Kasukuwere was
allegedly implicated, it has been established.
Kasukuwere was removed from government in late 2017 during
a military coup that replaced ex-president Robert Mugabe with Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
The exiled Kasukuwere is reportedly plotting a political
comeback through a yet-to-be announced political party, which he will lead in
the next general elections in 2023.
The former Zanu PF commissar is now accused of aiding the
rot at the troubled Gokwe council through acts of omission or commission after
the government at the time paid a blind eye to the corruption.
John Makamure, the Zacc spokesperson and a commissioner,
confirmed the probe to The Standard, which has been investigating the alleged
corruption in collaboration with the Information for Development Trust.
The investigations have corroborated findings by the
Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (Act-SA), which produced a report
detailing claims of graft at GTC in September.
Obert Chinhamo, the Act-SA director, told The Standard that
the Zacc chairperson, Loice Matanda-Moyo, had personally promised him that the
commission would follow up on the allegations contained in his organisation’s
report.
The Kwekwe-based anti-graft outfit shared its report with
the commission in September.
Act-SA met Zacc officials based in Gweru, the Midlands
capital, on November 22 and the commission has already engaged residents in
Gokwe, a small town that is located in the same province, in its
evidence-gathering process.
“We are investigating the corruption allegations levelled
against officials in Gokwe regarding operations at the town council. If we get
strong evidence that there is corruption at the council, arrests will,
naturally, be made,” Makamure said.
The council is being investigated under Zacc case number
G05/10/2019.
The current town secretary, Melania Mandeya, is likely to
form the main focus of the Zacc probe as she is facing a raft of allegations of
corruption.
There was an outcry among councillors, residents and civil
society over her appointment, which they alleged was irregular.
This publication established that in 2013 an advert for the
post was flighted publicly following the sacking of the then incumbent, Tapiwa
Marongwe, who was also being accused of corruption, but Mandeya did not apply.
A named senior local government ministry official ordered
GTC to re-advertise the post, apparently to enable her to apply.
Investigations revealed that a total of eight candidates
attended the interviews and Mandeya came fourth. She was beaten by Loud
Ramakpola (81%), Shingirayi Tigere (78,8 %) and Victor Kondo (63%).
Ramakpola got the job, but resigned out of frustration four
months later as he had been denied a council vehicle, telephone allowance and
other conditions specified in his contract.
On October 21, 2014, Mandeya, who sources say was not
employed by GTC then, was given a letter of appointment to the job and her contract
would be effective from December 1, the same year, without the knowledge or
approval of the Local Government Board.
Mandeya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Guidance and
Counselling from the Zimbabwe Open University and the qualification is
considered unsuitable for the job.
A letter obtained by the Standard indicates that councillors
complained in writing to the then Local Government minister, Kasukuwere, over
the irregularity, and her appointment was put on hold.
But she was reinstated on a full-time basis in January 2015
by the Local government ministry, again under unclear circumstances.
Despite the temporary freeze of her appointment, Mandeya
still received her December salary and allowances.
She was paid US$2 597 through a transfer made on January
19, 2015 from the GTC’s CBZ Bank account into her ZB bank account
4558567128200.
The town secretary was also paid US$326 for diesel for
December 2014 as indicated by voucher number RATV095.
Yet the council also paid the acting town secretary,
Rosemary Chingwe, the sum of US$706 approved through voucher number 017 for the
same month.
The money was wired into Chingwe’s ZB bank account number
4564398570200.
In May 2019, Mandeya allegedly gave a contract for catering
services to a named local businesswoman, who could not be located for her
response, without consulting councillors.
The businesswoman, sources said, was a front for the Gokwe
district administrator Steward Gwatirinda. The value of the contract has been
kept under wraps.
A July 1, 2019 letter leaked to this publication that was
signed by the caterer shows that she instructed GTC to deduct $4 000 from the
amount and direct it as part payment for a residential stand belonging to
Gwatirinda, situated at Gokwe centre’s Kambasha area.
Gwatirinda admitted that he had received the payment, when
contacted for a comment.
“Yes, someone paid for my stand at Gokwe Town Council, but
that person owed me money. “However, it is a personal issue. I can’t discuss it
in the media, how that person ended up owing me money,” he said.
The town secretary again gave a contract of US$12 000 to
one Zaranyika to supply curtains for the Gokwe town house without going to
tender.
Mandeya and Zaranyika are said to be relatives and were
staying under the same roof.
In 2016, Mandeya received a Chevrolet vehicle, registration
number AEF 2600, for US$58 000 despite the fact that one supplier was selling
it for US$51 000 and no justification was given for preferring the costlier
car.
Investigations showed that Mandeya owns two residential
stands in the Kambasha low-density suburb against council policy and the Urban
Councils Act. These are stands number 155 and 156.
Mandeya dismissed all the accusations against her as
unfounded and malicious.
She, however, admitted that she came fourth in the
interviews, but saw nothing wrong with her appointment.
“I didn’t employ myself,” she said.
She claimed council bought materials for curtaining of the
town house and the US$12 000 figure was exaggerated. Mandeya denied being
related to Zaranyika.
She also admitted owning two stands, but insisted there was
nothing wrong with it.
Mandeya defended the purchase of the Chevrolet at an
exorbitant price, saying they considered other things outside the price, but
did not elaborate.
In 2011, the local authority paid a total of US$23 000 for
the purchase of a Nissan NP300 from a Harare-based company that was meant for
use by the finance director but, up to now, it has not been delivered.
The Act-SA report indicates that GTC has a secret CBZ
nostro account that this paper later established is number 01721387410218 and
was kept away from the councillors until recently.
It could not be immediately established who opened it and
when, the signatories and the amount being held in the account.
Two cash receipt books disappeared at GTC early this year,
but no report was made to the police nor did the council make efforts to warn
the public.
The Act-SA report indicates that the Zimbabwe National
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, which owns Chirisa Game Park in Gokwe,
made a donation of US$8 000 to the town council, but does not specify when that
happened and the purpose.
The report notes that there is no accountability to date on
how the money was used despite demands to management for accountability from
councillors.
Zimparks spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo, said he could not
remember the donation.
Similarly, Act-SA alleges in its report that the Zimbabwe
National Roads Administration (Zinara) disbursed funds to the local authority
for road surfacing last year and GTC contracted Godfrey Nuwana, who owns a road
construction company to do the job, but the money was allegedly diverted while
the contractor was paid in the form of three residential stands named as
numbers 10760, 10759 and 10758.
This paper has also established that, in 2011, a
well-wisher who is now based in the United States, Peter Lobel, initiated a
campaign dubbed “Mudzimiwemoto” (The Fire Fighter) to capacitate local
authorities in civil protection.
Lobel donated a Volvo fire tender, registration number
AAE8004, to GTC in 2016, but council books of finance indicate that the vehicle
was purchased at a value of US$22 000.
Gokwe town council’s financial records have not been
audited for over five years and management has repeatedly ignored calls for a
forensic audit.
GTC’s 63rd full council meeting resolved on May 23, 2013,
well before Mandeya took over, to buy a Toyota D4D vehicle from Croco Motors at
US$38 000, but management opted for a used one at US$18 000.
Records show that the car was bought from an individual,
one David Michael Catchington, and because it was a non-runner, council ended
up spending US$34 000 to repair it.
At the height of a push by councillors to fish out corrupt
tendencies and illicit financial flows, Mandeya reportedly fired the internal
council auditor, Tavaziva Mavhengere on three months’ notice.
A document with recommendations to the full council meeting
by the audit committee chairperson councillor Salstino Mapfunde after Mandeya
fired the internal auditor indicated that efforts by the policy makers to trace
opaque financial transactions were killed by the dismissal of the employee, who
had most of the information.
Part of it reads: “The town secretary ill-advised council
and destroyed my audit committee indirectly by terminating the contract of the
(internal) auditor on three months’ notice illegally and without even following
the procedures.
“We now do not have an auditor and when we want to have an
audit committee meeting we are given a mere clerk (sic). It is mockery to my
committee. ”
The audit committee chairperson says that the firing of the
internal auditor had undermined their efforts to get answers on suspected
fraudulent transactions.
“The case of the Gokwe Town Council is a microcosm of a
bigger catastrophe in other local authorities.
“On the other side, relevant authorities that have a
constitutional mandate to investigate corruption often give a blind eye
especially when the leadership of these local authorities is linked to certain
high profile individuals,” said Chinhamo.
Local government ministry permanent secretary, George
Magosvongwe, confirmed receiving reports of corruption at GTC and like Zacc,
also confirmed investigations would be conducted.
“The ministry received reports of the alleged corruption
activities at Gokwe Town Council,” he said.
“To this effect, an investigation will be carried out to
establish the facts and the results will be availed in due course.” Standard
0 comments:
Post a Comment