The Government has condemned the move by Harare City Council to reinstate senior and middle managers with pending corruption court cases, saying such moves are tantamount to undermining the courts.
Local Government and Public Works Minister Cde July Moyo on
Wednesday said by reinstating the arrested and suspended employees, there was
no guarantee that they will not interfere with evidence and or with witnesses
since they were among their subordinates.
“If you start bringing people on the same job, will they
not mess up with records?” he said. “How can they not when they are facing
jail?
“We are talking about people who have records, who are
supervisors and all those under them, how can they not be intimidated?”
Minister Moyo said when there was prima facie evidence that
they ought to answer in court, administratively the officials will have done
something which the city must be worried about.
“To bring them back when investigations are still going on,
what about the paperwork, the intimidation they can bring to the workers who
are there,” he said.
Minister Moyo said he had told the city mayor Jacob Mafume
that the courts were there to make sure that those who were accused were
brought to book.
“So, l leave it to the council, but l am sure that the
courts will look very unkind to the situation where there are ongoing
investigations and that person is given access to documents,” he said.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said
senior council officials implicated in corruption should be cleared by the
courts and internal disciplinary hearings within the shortest possible time
before they could be allowed back at work.
“The magnitude of corruption in the city of Harare needs
urgent intervention,” he said. “Any delay in concluding investigations will
jeopardise service provision and take us back to the 2007-2008 levels where
there was impunity and high levels of unaccountability in the whole system of
council.”
Combined Harare Residents Association director Mrs Loreen
Mupasiri-Sani said the reinstatement was not acceptable as it displayed the
council’s lack of seriousness in addressing corruption.
Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and
Residents Trust head Mr Shepherd Chikomba said the move was off-side.
“We will demonstrate against the council if they bring the
suspects at Town House,” he said. “So, what it means is the whole council is
corrupt, the Government needs to intervene.”
Zimbabwe Combined Residents Association (ZICORA) president
Mr McSteven Nyabvure said the reinstatement was an attempt to perpetuate
corruption.
According to the recent Human Resources and General
Purposes committee minutes, the council resolved to recommend the reinstatement
of those with flexible bail conditions.
Among those under suspension are town clerk Engineer Hosiah
Chisango, director of housing and community services Mr Addmore Nhekairo,
acting human capital director Mr Matthew Marara.
A number of other city employees have also appeared in
court and are on bail. Herald
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