HARARE City Council acting finance director Godfrey Kusangaya caused a storm during a hearing by the commission of inquiry investigating the municipality’s financial management when he “disappeared” with the investigators file during an interval.
The commission of inquiry appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa early this year is investigating City of Harare management and council on financial management issues dating back to 2017.
Appearing before the commission last week, Kusangaya took the file with him to the office and returned with it when the hearing resumed.
Members of the commission were livid over Kusangaya’s action.
Kusangaya, however, told the commissioners that he took it due to confusion after the commission’s request for evidence.
“What happened is when you adjoined, you said rush to get this information. I had my own file here and in the confusion of that rush, I just picked it up. I think I was picking up the last paper somewhere here and I think there was only one file.
“I only noticed it when I was just about to disembark at Rowan Martin (Building) because I was rushing. I put one of my own, which is almost similar,” he said.
The commissioners, however, took Kusangaya to task to explain how he had noticed that the file was not his.
“Yours is marked with indexes when I just looked; I saw it was marked, that's when I realised it was a wrong file. Sorry, when I was just driving when I picked it, I just threw it on the other seat. When I was disembarking now, that's when I noticed it.
“I left it in the car I went to fetch the information that I had been requested to bring. Then I brought it back. Yes, and I left it in the car. I have not asked where you left it, Kusangaya said.
Meanwhile, according to the commission's reports, the government gave the local authority US$1,2 million to clear its arrears to Zimbabwe Phosphates Industries (ZimPhos).
The commission asked Kusangaya about the payment and he said he did not see the receipt of such an amount.
He was also asked to present evidence of the actual disbursement by the government based on the March 11, 2024 council meeting, but he failed.
Kusangaya told the commission that he did not see any evidence of the US$1,2 million payment from the government.
He also confirmed that the actual amount received from government was ZiG325 000, not US$1,2 million.
“It is not correct to say it was US$1,2 million, the US$1,2 million never came. We never distributed it to other suppliers. No.
“We do not have in our books evidence showing that this is what happened. Yes, a claim was made for US$1,2 million. And on a number of occasions, we have done that with the government.
“I have just confirmed that what we actually received is ZiG325 000 from the government. I think that’s the money we talked about there, US$200 000, that's the one they told me that we gave them,” Kusangaya said.
The commission indicated that even if government had given them US$1,2 million, council would have failed to pay ZimPhos.
The commission also indicated that there was no record indicating that council did not receive the money.
“What happened is we just accepted what is being distributed by the government and in the spirit of that agreement; we just passed it on,” Kusangaya said.
Commissioners indicated that at the meeting held on March 11, an undertaking was made to pay ZimPhos a ZiG500 000.
Council also undertook to pay ZiG300 000 every week and ZimPhos would continue supplying water treatment chemicals.
The commission indicated that HCC consistently and persistently misled ZimPhos to discourage it from continuing to supply chemicals in preference to their suppliers thereby putting residents’ lives at risk.
However, instead of continuing to pay ZimPhos, council paid US$949 000 in May this year to other suppliers and acknowledged the outstanding debt of US$2,4 million.
