MUTARE- The Mayor of Mutare Brian James was forcefully ejected from his office by municipal police and a number of Zanu PF youths. This followed his purpotted suspension on Friday by Ignatius Chombo, Minister of Local Government and Urban Development for alleged misconduct.
James who is also the councillor for Ward 12 in the city received the suspension letter dated 19 January on Friday 27 January 2012.
In his letter, referenced “Suspension of Clr Brian James from being councillor (Ward 12) Mutare City” Chombo wrote:
“Having cautioned you in a letter of Remedial Intervention, dated 3 March 2010 and referenced X/21/36, reports of misconduct continue to come to my office implying that you are unrepentant.
“This leaves me with no option other than to invoke Section 114 of the Urban Councils Act {Chapter 29:15}, to suspend you from being a Councillor (Ward 12) for Mutare City, with immediate effect.
“During this period of suspension, you shall not conduct any council business, for and on behalf of council, within or outside council premises and you shall not be eligible to receive any form of remuneration.
“Please note that this suspension is in the interest of ensuring sound local governance for effective service delivery in Mutare City.”
The MDC-T meanwhile says the suspension was based on hear-say and not facts as the letter does not explain explicitly the kind of misconduct Clr James committed. “Neither does it mention the names of the people who supplied him with the said reports, making the letter void in many respects.”
The MDC-T condemned “the continued persecution of its members and officials” and said “Chombo is the lead culprit in gross mismanagement, corruption and fraud. He has failed to come out clean on the massive properties he has acquired during his tenure as Minister of Local Government.”
Among the property owned by Chombo are 20 stands in the upmarket Crow Hill area in Borrowdale, 10 in Glen Lorne, four in Victoria Falls, four in Chitungwiza and another four in Beitbridge.
As if this is not enough, Chombo has four commercial stands in Kariba, four in Banket, four in Norton and three in Bulawayo. The list also included more than 15 top-of-the range vehicles, most likely purchased from proceeds of his illegal property deals.
Meanwhile, analysts say Chombo has shown how confused he is after he appointed a committee to investigate Chitungwiza Municipality for corruption. This follows reports of rampant corruption and misuse of resources in the town.
The accusations against Chombo resulted from his earlier resistance to have corrupt councillors fired.
“Maybe at that time Chombo feared that if the councillors were fired, they would spill the beans on the minister’s interference and involvement in the running of Zimbabwe’s third largest urban settlement.”
“Remember, Chombo himself owns properties in Chitungwiza and who knows, perhaps these were fraudulently acquired,” a source said.
