HARARE residents have said they are expecting the government’s commission of inquiry appointed to investigate financial operations at Town House to expose more rot as it enters its final stretch after President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended its tenure to February this year.
Mnangagwa last year appointed a commission to investigate the City of Harare’s management and financial affairs since 2017.
The commission of inquiry is chaired by retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda and includes former MDC top official Lucia Matibenga, Steven Chakaipa, Tabani Vusa Mpofu, Khonzani Ncube and Local Government and Public Works secretary John Basera.
Its tenure ended in November and Mnangagwa extended it by three months.
In an interview with NewsDay, Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba said Town House had been transformed into a crime scene, adding that the commission’s final stretch was crucial in exposing more rot at council.
Shumba, however, accused the commission of avoiding to directly address the competence of councillors.
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“The commission has brought into the public domain more revelations about the magnitude of corruption within the City of Harare.
“While the thrust of the investigations have avoided directly the issue of councillors’ competence, the officials, who appeared before the commission, demonstrated that the majority of our council operations are affected by the resolutions made by councillors in their committees and the full council meetings.
“Given the rot exposed so far, the Harare Residents Trust expects the commission to recommend the forced removal from office of the top management of the City of Harare, especially those in grades one to four to pave way for a total reset of the council.
“A way must be found to compensate them and make a new start with outsiders than with the current senior managers. Harare City Council is a crime scene,” he said.
Rueben Akili, the programmes manager at the Combined Harare Residents Association, expressed hope that the final stretch of the commission will not cost ratepayers money.
“Our position on the commission does not change because most of the things exposed are issues we have raised before and the Auditor-General’s Office has also raised them. We are expecting that the final stretch is not costing the ratepayers money,” he said.
The commission is set to give Mnangagwa a report in March according to law.