×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Harare council manager nabbed for ‘falsehoods’

Local News
Asiyo Mkombeze, who is the council's projects superintendent, is facing criminal abuse of duty charges.

BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA

A HARARE City Council manager was on Thursday arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) after he allegedly produced a false report claiming that Fossil Construction Company had completed 15% of its road rehabilitation work in the capital.

Asiyo Mkombeze, who is the council’s projects superintendent, is facing criminal abuse of duty charges.

It is alleged that Mkombeze produced the false report to fraudulently facilitate the extension of the company’s contract, which was expiring on December 31, 2019.

Zacc alleges that Mkombeze misrepresented that the construction company had completed 15% of the US$2,1 million road rehabilitation contract of Kelvin South Road, Graniteside, Harare.

But council records show that the company had since completed work on the said road and claims to be  owed $15 million from 2016 when the road was done.

Fossil is also working on a patch on the Harare-Beitbridge Road which was contracted to many companies last year with the Transport ministry statistics ranking it second in terms of paving the longest stretch.

“Bitumen World has completed 54,5km, Fossil Contracting has done 50,3km which have been opened to the public, with Masimba Holdings at 40km, Tensor has done 40km, Exodus company has completed 30km and DoR Inhouse has completed 7,2km,” Transport ministry’s latest weekly report read.

Several Harare City council bosses have been nabbed for corruption, with observers claiming the arrests were a result of simmering power struggles in the council executive.

  • Follow Miriam on Twitter @FloMangwaya