Saturday 13 March 2021

HOW MDC A CRONIES GRABBED SPORTS CLUB LAND

 

The arrest of the City of Harare’s Acting Chamber Secretary Charles Usaviwevhu Kandemiri who was dragged to the courts of law on Friday the 5th of March 2021 has opened a can of worms, amid allegations that the MDC Alliance-led council has been involved in massive corruption in the sale of land.

Court papers show that Kandemiri played a leading role in Harare City Council’s sale of Stand Number 402 Vainona Township measuring 245 323 square metres to Hardspec Investment instead of Mt Pleasant Sports Club that had the right of refusal in accordance with the 30-year lease agreement it had signed with council.

Impeccable sources revealed to the ZBC News that the unprocedural and illegal sale of the stand came on the back of the oiling of the MDC-Alliance top leadership to the tune of about US$40 thousand, forcing the party to whip its councillors in the local authority to convene an unscheduled full council meeting on the 5th of September 2019 to speedily ratify the rotten deal.

According to papers in possession of the ZBC News, on the 4th of September 2019, Harare Council wrote to Mt Pleasant Sports Club purporting to offer them to buy the land despite writing to Hardspec Investment (PVT) on the same day offering them the land.

By the time Mt Pleasant Sports Club received the letter on the 5th of September 2019, just 24 hours before the deadline, an unscheduled full council meeting was already in session after it had been hastily convened to sanitize the corruption.

As expected the full council meeting chaired by Councillor Mupamawonde gave its blessings to the evil deed. Sources say councillors were whipped into line by threats of recall.

On 2 December 2019, an Environmental Management Committee deliberated and agreed to change the land in question’s reservation from recreational to residential.

Full council had another meeting on 17th December 2019 and recommended the change from recreational to residential and the day the heist was complete.

Land had been stolen from the Mt Pleasant Community to the MDC Alliance’s cronies.

Contacted for comment, The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission Spokesperson, Commissioner John Makamure said following the arrest of Kandemiiri, investigations are continuing and Zimbabweans should expect more arrests.

Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) director, Thabani Mpofu could not comment on the issue.

In the past Mr. Mpofu described the MDC Alliance led Harare City Council as the epicentre of corruption.

Several Harare MDC Alliance Councillors have been suspended while some have been arrested on different charges of corruption and abuse of office.

There are however calls that more should be done to clean up the rot at Town House if Harare is to attain the envisaged World Class City Status by the year 2025, let alone play a part in the success of the National Development Strategy. ZBC

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