CORRUPT City of Harare officials and councillors have systematically authorised full payment and over-payment for goods and services not delivered to the council resulting in the local authority losing thousands of ratepayers’ money in United States dollars.
Harare Residents Trust
Council committees engage in symbolic actions to create the impression that they want the looted funds to be returned to the City of Harare, or that they want the undelivered goods and services to be provided without delay. The chamber secretary as the chief legal advisor should lead recovery efforts to the council.
However, nothing really is recovered. Councillors continue with their routine meetings and simply come up with resolutions that are never implemented. This statement summarises a report that the City of Harare’s audit committee submitted to a full council meeting in mid-2019 whose recommendations and findings remain unimplemented.
A sample review done by the audit manager in a report dated June 18, 2019 covered a sample of tenders, which were concluded or implemented between January 2016 and December 2017 revealed that most of the companies were either paid in full or overpaid, but did not fulfil their obligations in terms of signed work commitments.
The City of Harare’s audit committee received this report and the acting chamber secretary Charles Kandemiiri has not successfully recovered ratepayers’ funds. Members of the audit committee, who received the report on July 17 2019, are Ian Makone ( chairman, ward 18, Borrowdale), Keith Charumbira (vicechairman, ward 8, Highlands, now recalled), Lovemore Makuwerere (ward 24, Highfield, recalled), Stanley Manasi Manyenga (ward 23, Waterfalls, recalled), Tichaona Mhetu (ward 15, Warren Park), and Stewart Mutizwa (ward 9, Greendale).
Twenty-five council officials attended the meeting, including then town clerk, Hosiah Chisango, Kandemiiri, housing and community services director Admore Nhekairo, Zvenyika Chawatama, director of works, among others.
The findings of the audit manager, identified as A Nyamurova, revealed that the sampled seven companies took nearly two million in United States dollars from council and none of them has been held accountable. Instead, in one case, the environment management committee attempted to push through a motion saying that the audit committee was pronouncing itself strongly.
The seven contracts sampled are: Podila Ventures (tender number COH/DOW/S9/2016 — supply and delivery of a jet patcher), Synlak (Pvt) Ltd (tender number COH/DHCS/S2/2015 — removal of the existing crematorium, supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of a new cremation unit and ancillary equipment and standby generator at Warren Hills Crematorium), Synlak (Pvt) Ltd (tender tumber COH/DOW/ S9/2015 — design and construction of 4×200 square metres biogas generator), Furbank (Pvt) Ltd (tender number COH/FD/ S2/2016 — supply and delivery of 25 motor vehicles on hire purchase basis), and Furbank (Pvt) Ltd (tender number PBR 0287 for the supply and delivery of 15 plate compactors.
With this overwhelming evidence of financial leakages in the City of Harare to contractors who appear to have their insiders in the council among officials and councillors, the Harare Residents’ Trust recommends that the full amounts owed to the local authority should be recovered through legal means without further delay. Council officials, who authorised payments for services not delivered must be severely punished and disciplinary measures must be taken to correct the growing trend of deliberately looting council funds through unfulfilled contracts.
