The MDC-T has accused Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo for nurturing corruption at Chitungwiza Municipality by allegedly ignoring several pleas to have the councillors investigated for graft.
The party in 2010 fired all its 23 councillors in the populous suburb accusing them of corruption, but Chombo blocked the move and urged them to continue in office.
Three years down the line, precisely last week, Chombo set up a five-member resuscitation team to assist the town council for the next 90 days.
Yesterday, Sesel Zvidzai, the MDC-T’s secretary for Local Government who is Chombo’s deputy in government accused his boss of acting “too late to stop the rot”.
“We told him a long time ago after we investigated as a party and found that corruption was rife in Chitungwiza. We asked him to act but he decided to relax and now look where Chitungwiza is. He decides to act this late,” said Zvidzai.
Last week Chombo came face to face with the rot in Chitungwiza and set up a team to resuscitate the ailing local authority amid reports of gross misappropriation of funds.
Zvidzai had no kind words for Chombo whom he said acted in an uncivilised manner by suspending and causing the eviction of Mutare mayor, Brian James last week.
He said his party had unearthed a plot by Chombo to suspend and ultimately fire all MDC-T councillors and replace them with “his people” prior to the forthcoming elections.
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“In the millennium of civilisation, how can someone act so barbarically? He (James) is being punished for refusing to give land to a Chinese company and that he refused to sign a budget. It’s in his right to refuse if he has reservations,” said Zvidzai.
“We know he wants to suspend all mayors in the country and elect his people.”
Several efforts to raise Chombo on his mobile phone yesterday were fruitless.
