KAROI Town Council could have lost thousands of dollars to unscrupulous housing officials accused of issuing out dubious lease agreements to unsuspecting businessmen and residents while converting the money to their own use, NewsDay has learnt.
By Nhau Mangirazi
According to sources, some residents and businesses are paying for leases, but the funds are not being remitted to council.
Recently, a council housing official James Nyamasoka, allegedly issued a fake $700 lease receipt which was intercepted by the accounts department when the lessee approached council for verification of payment.
A source said more cases of corruption might be exposed if proper investigations were carried out.
“Accounts department instituted investigations as the receipt proved to be fake and many could have been duped while individuals pocketed public funds,” the source said on condition of anonymity
“This case of a fake lease agreement is just a tip of the iceberg in corruption within council’s cash cow system as council sold more stands, but it is in the red financially. We have some councillors and officials who also act as middlemen where they sell stands at higher prices.”
Town clerk, Wellington Mutikani confirmed the incident last week.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“Yes, I can confirm that one official at council housing department James Nyamasoka has been suspended on fraud allegations,” he said.
A council source said the case was still under investigation, although some councillors had tried to throw spanners into the probe.
“The case is of deep-rooted corruption in the housing department that already has several cases of corruption involving top officials and councillors,” another official said on condition of anonymity.
Former housing official Everson Chibaya was also fired a few years ago, when he allegedly duped several landseekers by issuing them fake receipts for housing and commercial stands and pocketed the proceeds.
