… cllrs recuse themselves, 12 remain at the end

By ALBERT MASAKA

FIREWORKS erupted during yesterday’s special meeting where Chitungwiza  councillors blocked a tender for the town’s valuation roll exercise that was controversially awarded to Grosbrook Real Estate accusing the under fire  acting town clerk Japson Nemuseso and his managers of not following due process.

According to sources, the councillors also queried the amount of $780 000 that council had agreed to pay Grosbrook, which they believe was  inflated and resolved to set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the issue.

Many councillors especially from the audit committee ended up walking out of the stormy meeting with some recusing themselves.

Nemuseso is reported to have admitted  that the figure has initially shocked him but could not give a convincing statement on why he later signed the contract, without the knowledge of the mayor Rosario Mangoma and her councillors.

“It was a very tense meeting, some people had to recuse themselves, this was  after a proposal was made by a councillor  that the tender be cancelled and then be re-tendered because of the exorbitant fees. Research from other local authorities such as  Chinhoyi and Marondera show the figures to be around $55 000 against our figure of $780 000.

“The recommendation sailed through, we went further to call for the setting up of a committee to investigate how this came about. Curiously this led to a lot of councilors names supplied recusing themselves and walking out somewhat in protest.”

“But we stuck to our guns, how can we justify such controversial decisions when are are failing to deliver  and paying workers, this is taxpayers’ money at stake.”  

 Council announced recently it will be undertaking a general valuation of all properties in  Chitungwiza in terms of the Urban Councils Act and has appointed Grosbrook to undertake the exercise.

The notice  stated that this was  in line with the first stage of  President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Call to Action -No Compromise to Service Delivery interventions aimed at modernising local authorities operations in line with Vision 2030.

The municipality advised residents to allow officials from Grosbrook Real Estate P/L access into their properties for valuation purposes.

“To that end, Council has engaged Grosbrook Real Estate P/L to undertake this important exercise. Valuation officers from Grosbrook Real Estate P/L will be visiting your properties for inspection and assessment from June 24, 2024 for purposes of preparing a general valuation roll for the Municipality.” part of the notice read.

The properties include residential, commercial, industrial and institutional properties, read the notice signed by Nemuseso.

A general valuation roll is a legal document that consists of property information of all rateable properties within the boundaries of a municipality.

A property valuation report is given to the property owner to indicate the condition of the house and how much it is worth in the market. The report helps a buyer as well as a seller in assessing the value of a property. Based on the property valuation reports, you can estimate the price of your property.

Chitungwiza  public relations officer Tafadzwa Kachiko who last week said he had never seen any newspaper  inquiring on the valuation roll figures elsewhere,  promised to come back with a response on the latest development.

Mangoma yesterday had referred all questions to Kachiko

More details to follow

Nominations for the fifth edition of Zimbabwe’s  most prestigious community awards, the Zim Community Trailblazers Awards 2024 (ZCTA), will be open from today,  Tuesday 2 July 2024  and are closing on  31 November 2024.

The awards, which are aimed at recognising and honouring outstanding achievements within our diverse communities, are a solution-based initiative from Perfection Media (Pvt) Ltd. 

The prestigious event is set for Friday 31 January 2025 at the Harare International Conference Centre.

ZCTA 2024 AWARDS CATEGORIES

• Tourism and Hospitality
• 1.      Distinguished Tourism Association
• 2.      Distinguished Hotel Brand
• 3.      Distinguished Airline Partner
• 4.      Outstanding Luxury Airport Lounge
• 5.      Outstanding Luxury Cruise Liner
• 6.      Outstanding Tourism Industry Professional
• 7.      Outstanding Tourism Reporter
• Agriculture
• 8.      Distinguished Agriculture Inputs Producer
• 9.      Outstanding Agriculture Empowerment Project
• 10.  Outstanding Small Scale Farmer
• 11.  Outstanding Agriculture Reporter
• Wildlife
• 12.  Outstanding Safari Operator
• 13.  Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Project
• Health Sector
• 14.  Distinguished Medical Centre
• 15.  Distinguished Health Champion
• 16.  Outstanding Pharmaceutical company
• 17.  Outstanding Health Reporter  
• Education
• 18.  Distinguished Higher and Tertiary Education Institute
• 19.  Outstanding Tertiary Education Technology Hub
• 20.  Outstanding High School
• 21.  Outstanding Educationist
• 22.  Outstanding Education Reporter                                      
•  Mining
• 23.  Distinguished Miner
• 24.  Outstanding Mining Empowerment Project
• 25.  Outstanding Mining Reporter
• Service Delivery
• 26.  Outstanding Urban Municipality
• 27.  Outstanding Rural District Council
• Business
• 28.  Distinguished Real Estate company
• 29.  Distinguished Businessman                                  
• 30.  Distinguished  Clean Energy  Champion
• 31.  Distinguished Telecommunications Company
• 32.  Businessman of the Year
• 33.  Outstanding Construction Company
• 34.  Outstanding Business Couple
• 35.  Outstanding Business Reporter
• Community Champions
• 36.  Distinguished Disability Advocacy Champion                 
• 37.  Distinguished Social Entrepreneur                                               
• 38.  Distinguished  Community Leader
• 39.  Distinguished humanitarian organisation
• 40.  Outstanding  Anti-Drugs Fight Champion                            
• 41.  Outstanding Environment Champion                    
• 42.  Diaspora Community Champion                                             
• Media Awards
• 43.     Distinguished Media Association
• 44.     Distinguished Media Company                 
• Sport
• 45.  Distinguished sportsperson               
• 46.  Outstanding National Sports Team                 
• 47.  Team of the Year                       
• Arts
• 48.  Outstanding Literary Work
• 49.  Arts Promotion Champion
• 50.  Outstanding Musician
•  People’s Choice Award   

Eligibility

All trailblazing Zimbabwean individuals, organisations and partners from our local and the Diaspora communities are invited to submit  entries for  the biggest  awards ceremony in the country.

Entries

Potential awardees for the individual awards will present direct entries with their profiles and  brief citations demonstrating why their work should be honoured in their chosen category/ies.

Individuals can submit a maximum of one entry/portfolio per category.

Entries are to be submitted by emailing to: zctanominations@gmail.com

Further Enquiries: Cell 0776 963414

Note: The selection panel will highly consider how each nominees’ trailblazing work has positively impacted the community.

GOVERNMENT has temporarily suspended the allocation of State land until an efficient and transparent system that ensures urban State land is key in facilitating sustainable and functional developments is in operation.

According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, the moratorium will pave the way for the finalisation of the ongoing process that are reviewing and strengthening existing policy framework and guidelines on the administration and management of Urban State Land.

“In the interest of the public, the Government of Zimbabwe wishes to advise the nation of measures being put in place to enhance the administration and management of Urban State Land.

“The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works is mandated to administer, on behalf of His Excellency, the President, Cde Dr E.D. Mangagwa, Urban State Land, itself a finite heritage resource that is central to the national development thrust as espoused in the National Development Strategy 1 and Vision 2030.

The ministry implored stakeholders including the general public to be patient while the Ministry concludes the process.

“It is therefore imperative that an efficient and transparent system is put in place to ensure that Urban State Land plays a role in facilitating sustainable and functional developments.

“The Ministry therefore wishes to announce the imposition, with immediate effect, of a moratorium on allocation of Urban State Land until further notice.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently  issued June 30 as the deadline for all local authorities to have approved master plans.

At that time only eight of 92 councils had approved plans, making it difficult for the rest of the local authorities to plan for the improvement and delivery of services.

Chitungwiza municipality was this week rescued by Prophet Walter Magaya who is funding the cash-strapped council’s master plan.