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Chombo defends town clerk Mahachi

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LOCAL Government minister Ignatius Chombo has defended the acquisition of 25 top-of-the-range luxury vehicles by Harare town clerk Tendai Mahachi for top council executives.

LOCAL Government minister Ignatius Chombo has defended the acquisition of 25 top-of-the-range luxury vehicles by Harare town clerk Tendai Mahachi for top council executives using part of the $144 million loan from China Eximbank for the rehabilitation of obsolete water infrastructure.

MOSES MATENGA

This followed the recent splashing by council of $2 million on vehicles such as Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery 4 for top executives.

Chombo yesterday told journalists before touring the Morton Jaffray Waterworks near Norton that there was nothing wrong in Mahachi and his team getting the luxury vehicles as they were key players in the project.

He said the money used for the vehicles, which translated to 0,09% of the whole project value, was too little, hence more vehicles could have been bought.

“0,09% only, why didn’t you get to 1%?” Chombo asked.

The vehicle issue has sparked a storm at Town House with councillors saying they were not consulted, adding that as far as they were concerned, only eight vehicles were supposed to have been acquired under the scheme. Residents have also threatened to boycott paying rates for the next three months to express their anger over the alleged mismanagement of finances at Town House.

Chombo said Mahachi was on a higher level than a deputy minister and permanent secretary who were driving Land Rover Discovery vehicles, hence the need to allocate him a plush vehicle.

“The mayor, who is part-time, will get his Mercedes Benz, the one he is using is old,” Chombo said, adding that he personally went to the Central Mechanical Equipment Department to facilitate the purchase of the luxury vehicles for the council bosses.

Chombo said all council vehicles that were parked after sparking controversy at the local authority should be allocated to top executives.

“Use them. If you don’t want them, you can give us and we will look for those who want the vehicles,” Chombo said.

Speaking at the same event, acting town clerk Josephine Ncube said council bought a total of 56 vehicles for the whole project.

“Indeed as I indicated, there is a provision for the purchase of various vehicles that include project team vehicles. They (officials involved in the project) need to be mobile,” Ncube said. She added that she would not comment on the types of the vehicles bought.

The vehicles, Ncube said, would remain council property at the completion of the project.

Council bosses clandestinely purchased the vehicles — a Range Rover Vogue, Land Rover Discovery 4 SUVs and twin cabs — for themselves using the project funds, raising the ire of residents and councillors who felt the move was scandalous.

The council officials did not go to tender or through a full council meeting as per procedure. Councillors have since set up a team to investigate how the vehicles were purchased.

Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) director Precious Shumba in a statement yesterday said they would not call off their three-month boycott of council rates until normalcy has been restored.

“If the high earners at Town House think that the HRT and its stakeholders can succumb to their threats, then they must be prepared to experience dry coffers in the next three months. This campaign will be reviewed and may be extended if they remain arrogant and unresponsive to the demands of the residents. Power resides in the people.”

On threats by residents to boycott council rates, Environment, Water and Climate minister Saviour Kasukuwere said although residents had a right to demand services, calling for boycott was illogical and ill-advised.

Chombo said the move by residents was cheap politicking and counter-productive.