LOCAL Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere has ordered Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to stop land allocations or leases to councillors, latest council minutes reveal.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
Kasukuwere has also directed BCC to reverse a council resolution to allocate Parklands Townhouse stands to councillors James Sithole (ward 7) and Charles Moyo (ward 9), the report of a finance and development committee meeting reveals.
Sithole and Moyo were among the five Bulawayo councillors, including deputy mayor, Gift Banda, that Kasukuwere suspended in September over allegations of corruption and illegal land deals, among others.
Sithole, Moyo and Mzama Dube (ward 25) had their suspension lifted last month, but Kasukuwere went on to direct council to reverse land allocations, as a probe on councillors continues.
“I refer to a special council meeting held on March 10, 2016, which, among other things, made a resolution that Parklands stands 15943 measuring 3,7222 hectares and 15945 measuring 2,273ha be allocated to Sithole and Moyo, respectively, in terms of section 152(2) of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15),” Kasukuwere wrote to BCC in a letter dated November 2.
“In terms of section 314 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), I, hereby, direct council to rescind the afore cited resolution. Furthermore, council is directed to put on hold all allocations, leases and any land-related matters involving councillors. Therefore, be guided accordingly.”
The council minutes said the finance and development committee debated the matter and councillors resolved to comply with the directive.
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Kasukuwere said a government probe team deployed to Bulawayo unearthed rampant corruption over tender processes and illegal land deals among councillors, among others.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association initially raised a red flag over the rate at which councillors were allegedly grabbing land in the city leading to the government sending an investigation team to get to the bottom of the matter.
MDC-T secretary general, Douglas Mwonzora, however, dismissed the suspensions as politically motivated, saying Kasukuwere always had an axe to grind with the opposition-led council to weaken it.
