Chitown seeks temporary bolt-hole in government

…declines to divulge information on funding

…Masvingo planner to lead master plan process

By ALBERT MASAKA

THE underfire Chitungwiza Municipality has in desperation sought refuge in government by requesting to the Local Government ministry for assistance in engaging a consultant as the deadline extended to it for the master plan draws close.

This follows the under-capacitated council’s repeated controversial failures to engage a consultant for its master plan implementation process.

Government recently extended time for Chitungwiza after it failed to meet President Mnangagwa’s June 30 deadline for the country’s 92 local authorities to submit the required master plans.

This is after Chitungwiza recently wrote a letter requesting to the Local Government Ministry for assistance in deploying a consultant to lead the planning process.

Our investigations reveal that Chitungwiza was avoiding going through the procurement process by seeking the intervention of government.

On Tuesday Chitungwiza settled on Dr Kudzai Chatiza, who is the lead planner for Masvingo’s master plan.

Masvingo municipality has met Mnangagwa’s master plan  deadline.

Unlike before, Chitungwiza is now reluctant to divulge details of the new deal including the amount to be paid to Dr Chatiza and his terms of reference.

In the past, following leaked documents from council, the acting town clerk Japson Nemuseso has gone public on their engagements with master plan consultants.

However, the deals with Wistmer Investment and Ncube and Burrow Consulting Engineers have failed to materialize with Nemuseso’s name popping up among residents and councillors as the reason for the collapse.

Irate councillors accused Nemuseso of misleading them, in particular on the recent failed deal with Ncube and Burrow.

On Thursday, Dungwiza News sought details on Master Plan implementation progress amid reports that Chitungwiza was planning to acquire new vehicles for its managers.

Chitungwiza is failing to pay its workers on time citing financial challenges.

However sources have revealed that council’s revenue inflows have improved as compared to the firmer mayor Kiven Mutimbanyoka’s era when workers were being paid in time.

 Following unconfirmed reports that council will fork out US$190 000 to Dr Chatiza, public relations officer Tafadzwa Kachiko promised to come back with the answers.

Kachiko only responded on Saturday following written questions on how much the new lead planner Dr Chatiza was going to be paid at this stage of the master plan process.

“In terms of the master plan, everything is on track now. We have had challenges previously, but we are now progressing well. Our focus is on the future.

“We will have more stakeholder engagements at the household level and with focal groups. On the issue of payments and other procurement processes, I am currently not in a position to disclose the amount to be paid for the master plan and valuation roll.”

However, it was not also clear at which stage Chatiza is joining the master plan implementation process and what informed the council to come up with the figure to pay him.

Council refused to disclose updates on the valuation roll, which is a critical component of the master plan.

The process of coming up with a master plan goes through five stages which are the inception where the process is introduced to stakeholders.

The second stage is the study of the planning area where the planners establish the current situation in the town.

In the third stage they make planning proposals and policies then the report is adopted by council in the fourth stage.

The last and fifth stage will see the master plan being approved by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works.

During one of the master plan consultative meetings an official told residents that t $600 000 was not enough to fund the master plan process and more might be needed.

On being probed further, Kachiko us to Nemuseso who for the second week in a row failed to respond to our written questions.

Dungwiza News emailed the interview questions and through the sms platform on his cellphone number.