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NewsDay

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Storm over leaked probe document

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Eight councillors implicated in the alleged unprocedural allocations of stands in Chitungwiza town have questioned the authenticity of the report that accuses them, claiming authors of the document had a sinister political agenda. The report, which was leaked to the Press last week, was produced by a probe team appointed by Local Government minister Ignatius […]

Eight councillors implicated in the alleged unprocedural allocations of stands in Chitungwiza town have questioned the authenticity of the report that accuses them, claiming authors of the document had a sinister political agenda.

The report, which was leaked to the Press last week, was produced by a probe team appointed by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo in February this year.

The councillors yesterday said they suspected a Zanu PF hand in the crafting of the 31-page probe document, arguing the absence of Zanu PF councillors known for illegally parcelling out land to their cronies raised eyebrows.

The report is set to be tabled at committee level before it goes to a full council meeting for adoption. Part of the report reads: The numerous church, school, recreational and crche sites and open spaces that were illegally converted into residential stands are the main findings of this report and the recommendations therein.

Contacted for comment, Lorraine Usaiwevhu, one of the councillors implicated in the alleged scam, threatened to take legal action, saying the report had tarnished her image.

The report is not fair. I dont have a stand and I have nothing to do with the stand mentioned in that report, she said.

The question is did I get that land? In fact, I am one of the people who unearthed and exposed corruption in Chitungwiza and reported to (MDC-T) president (Morgan) Tsvangirai when I was the (council) Chief Whip, thats why I am hurt by this report, she said.

Councillor Jacob Rukweza said: One thing has to be understood that we as councillors cannot create stands. They are created by the department of urban planning in council. We dont issue offer letters, they are issued by the director of housing and community services and we dont issue leases, they are issued by the town clerk.

Its unfortunate the report was written without bothering to consult councillors to give their side of the story. So that makes the report biased.