Political Reporter
Chitungwiza Municipality Acting Mayor, Kiven Mutimbanyoka has declared that they will cleanse the council following allegations of illegal selling of the mayoral mansion stand.
The new revelations come on the background of residents associations who, in yesterday’s presser in the Council Chambers, alleged that Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillors from Chitungwiza were involved in the illegal selling of the mayoral mansion stand.
A resident, only identified as Mutosa said, the mayoral mansion stand was sold un-procedurally without the council’s consent.
“There are names of people coming out who sold stand in the public,” said Mutosa.
Mayor Mutimbanyoka told the press that, “ever since I took over, we have solved problems of illegal selling of land in Chitungwiza Municipality. We are making the right decisions and we are developing your council and feel free to inform us of an illegal selling of stands so that we take appropriate measures. No one is above the law.”
Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations of Residents Trust ZINOART) who attended the presser commended the council for its efforts in bringing sanity to Chitungwiza.
ZINOART praised ZANU PF and the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, July Moyo for appointing an acting mayor who has a sense of direction and who was bringing sanity to the council which was previously tarnished by a reputation of corruption, incompetence and mismanagement of public funds by CCC councillors.
In October 2022, former mayor and CCC ward 7 councillors; Lovemore Maiko was implicated in the illegal selling of stands and was eventually suspended for alleged acts of gross misconduct, gross incompetence and wilful violation of the law.
Chitungwiza CCC councillors, such as Darlington Musonza (ward 12), Fungai Magadzire (ward 15), Question Dingo (ward 23) and Stanley Warikandwa (ward 11) have also been accused of illegally selling stands CCC councillors at Chitungwiza Municipality have been accused of using the backdating system in order to manipulate the land allocation system to illegally sell stands.
Other urban councils led by the opposition allegedly award stands to only CCC supporters. Apolitical citizens have been on the waiting list since 2018 and some of them confirmed to this publication that they got information that they would not get the stands.
Meanwhile, the list of disputed stands in Chitungwiza includes those stands at Huruyadzo, Chitungwiza VID area and Chigovanyika service station. Mutimbanyoka promised to regularize the stands through following local council due processes.
