Council seeks ZACC intervention

Source: Council seeks ZACC intervention | The Herald March 4, 2019

Clr Gomba

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba is pushing council to invite the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to Town House to probe workers who have been issuing fake licences and pocketing thousands of dollars from home industries and flea markets.

Clr Gomba, who is seeking the help of the parent Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing in the fight, wants council to report some council workers in the markets, traffic and city health environmental officers to ZACC for investigation and arrest on corruption.

In an interview, Clr Gomba said for weeks, he has been receiving information to the effect that some workers in the divisions had been pocketing thousands of dollars from home industries and flea markets.

“Council must harness all resources from its revenue streams in order to improve service,” he said.

“We must stop people who want to create their businesses within council. Many council employees have created cartels with mushikashika, vendors and kombis at the expense of the city getting revenue, affecting service delivery and contributing to non-payment of salaries. The workers are alleged to be creating fake retail licences and pocketing large sums of money from overlapping tables charging $5 per table in Mupedzanhamo markets and others.”

In some cases, the workers are negligent enough not to visit the same retail shops to verify their compliance on licences.

Harare is seeking to be a World Class City by 2025 and Clr Gomba’s strategy is to maximise on revenue.

There is massive corruption in the city’s municipal traffic police division, with issues ranging from division capture by certain individuals within council and connivance with kombi, mushikashika and touts.

Some council officers are part of a fleet of kombis and always facilitate the release of vehicles whenever they are impounded for offences.

“The city needs a new approach to all its areas of service,” said Clr Gomba.

“People who work from 6am to 1pm only to penalise fewer vehicles in a sea of by-laws breaches means a lot has to be done to contain the mushikashika menace.

“If Harare is to be a world class city, we have to have a municipal police officer who does not involve himself or herself in anomic corrupt behaviour at the expense of the institution. We want to ensure targets are given, strict supervision is put in place, malcontents are removed and shifts are introduced.

“We will be asking employees to sign performance contracts and we will introduce technology to deal with malcontents.”