By ALBERT MASAKA

LOCAL Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe has directed Chitungwiza mayor Rosaria Mangoma and Manyame Rural District Council chairperson to resuscitate the Manyame-Chitungwiza Joint Committee in order to resolve the long drawn housing saga.

Garwe said this today in Parliament while responding to a question from St Mary’s MP Brighton Mazhindu.

Mazhindu had asked the minister on the measures government was taking to ensure that residents who bought stands from Chitungwiza Municipality under the Nyatsime Housing scheme in 2007 will build their homes.

Several efforts by government have failed to resolve the issue that has led the area to be one of the most underdeveloped urban areas in the country with many people drowning while attempting to cross the river during the rain season.

 “Whilst queries are duly directed to the Ministry, and the two Local Authorities in question (Chitungwiza Municipality and Manyame Rural District Council), the delays in addressing the issues emanating from Nyatsime are primarily due to the dormancy of the Manyame Chitungwiza Joint Committee.

Garwe said government will ensure that the Joint Committee functions in accordance with SI 211 of 2021. 

The area under the Nyatsime Housing Scheme falls within a zone jointly managed by Chitungwiza Municipality and Manyame Rural District Council.

The six-member committee made up of three councillors from each local authority was set up by former minister of Local Government July Moyo in 2021.

 The Committee’s  primary purpose is to handle issues emanating from management of six farms which fall within shared territory of the two councils.

At law, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works may, in terms of Section 224 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), as read with Section 83 of the Rural District Councils Act [Chapter 29:13], establish a Joint Committee to look into the joint management of land or an area of joint interest. 

 The farms are Braemar, Longlands, Cawdor, Edinburg, Tantallon and Dunnottar.

“It is evident that the Joint Committee has not been dealing with issues such as the Nyatsime case, let alone siting, as expected.

“Whilst the Ministry stands ready to support the Joint Committee, it is the obligation of the Joint Committee to resolve issues raised by  beneficiaries of the Nyatsime Housing Scheme since they fall within the  boundaries of the farms stated in SI 211 of 2021” added Garwe.

… 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

AS part of our engagement efforts with the community in Chitungwiza, Seke and Manyame residential areas, our editor recently  sought community influencers to respond to the above question which makes the title for this page.

The following are their varied responses:

Disqualify them

EDITOR – I am honoured by your paper’s request for my opinion. While I am not aware of any councilor in that position, I feel that there is a need to disqualify property developers and real estate agents from holding the office of a councillor or mayor of a local council.

It is quite obvious that there is a need to draw a line as corruption and perceptions of corruption have bedevilled Chitungwiza and other councils for that matter.

In our case no political party has been immune to corruption. Both Zanu PF and the opposition parties among them the CCC should have learned the same hard lessons that residents have learned,

It’s time to put an end to this corruption in local councils once and for all.

If we choose to close our eyes or look the other way this will happen again and again. And who would be found wanting?

The political parties of course, those who brand themselves with corrupt candidates are also corrupt.

I want to make it crystal clear that it is my wish and hope that real estate agents and developers not must sit on local councils.

 I am not sure if the current legislation bars developers and real estate agents from seeking election to councils but if it does, it should be applied and if it does not, there is the challenge to our lawmakers.

In order to restore community confidence in local authorities, the real problem is allowing them to be councillors in the first place.

I wish to state I have nothing against the profession,   our community needs the experience and advice of real estate agents when buying or selling real estate property.

However, there is just too much of a conflict of interest in being a real estate agent and also sitting on a local council, the conflicts of interest are just too great to overcome when they sit as local councillors.

The power they wield is too tempting not to exercise that power to their own benefit.

Why not? But they never do that

EDITOR – There is almost no profession that cannot be influenced by such decisions.

Why not? Real estate agents know our town better and as long as one makes planning decisions and other issues related to the realty businesses without any personal bias, why not?

The issue is not can the councillor be influenced.

Will they be influenced?

However, the problem is, they never do that.

It’s how we vote, period

EDITOR – Before we go there, do we elect people based on their character or purely on personality or the promise of like-minded thinking?

Do we vote for a good person as defined by character or on issues?

The problem in Chitungwiza is that land barons and are the de facto estate agents

They come in many forms and some fund municipal election campaigns.

Others work with corrupt residents’ leaders to do their dirty work for them.

A diverse range of expertise among councillors can be beneficial for addressing a wide array of issues facing Manyame Rural District Council.

However, if councillors are directly involved in real estate, it could raise concerns about biases in decision-making related to land use policies, development projects, and other issues related to the real estate industry.

It is important for city council members to adhere to ethical guidelines and disclosure requirements to ensure transparency and accountability in their decision-making processes.

I urge residents with specific concerns about councillors and the potential conflicts of interest to reach out to local government watchdog organizations, ethics commissions, or other relevant authorities for further information and guidance.

EDITOR – This is not illegal at all but your question reveals a very real conflict of interest. Then again, to the extent that a councilor has a potentially vested interest in every decision,

Thank you for your robust journalism, a healthy democracy is founded in part on a healthy fourth estate.

Those who threaten or hate the media have a lot to hide.