HARARE – The Mayor of Harare, Councillor Jacob Mafume, has revealed that the City Council has yet to take action regarding the theft of US$4.5 million from Harare Quarry, which occurred in 2017.
The funds, which were advanced by a local bank as a recapitalisation loan, were allegedly embezzled by Quarry officials.
Testifying before the commission of inquiry into the operations of Harare City Council since 2017 on Thursday, Mafume acknowledged that despite his suggestions to put the entity under liquidation, no concrete steps have been taken.
He emphasised his passion for resolving the issue, stating that it was a key factor in the differences between the council and the management.
The Mayor attributed the delay to procedural requirements, explaining that a report needs to be filed with the police, and the Secretariat must be involved. Mafume also revealed that he had instructed the Town Clerk to take action, but nothing has been done yet.
Mafume said the matter was only reported to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) last year in September when the Commission was now in process. This means that the council had ignored the matter involving the US$4.5 million for more than 8 years.
This development comes after Council Business Committee Chairperson Lovemore Makuwerere exposed the embezzlement in September last year.
Makuwerere’s report showed that Harare Quarry officials had misused the funds and refused to report the matter to ZACC.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, last year in May, appointed a five-member commission, chaired by retired High Court judge Justice Maphios Cheda, to investigate the Harare City Council’s operations since 2017.
Interestingly, Mafume, on Wednesday, was left embarrassed after providing a false address to the commission.
Mafume had claimed to be temporarily residing at 110 Coronation Road in Greendale, but when the commission visited the address, they found an undeveloped property belonging to Peter Pfukwa, which was being used as a vehicle auction site.
Justice Cheda expressed surprise at the discovery, stating that the property was not a residence but rather an undeveloped stand with an office structure.
Mafume later acknowledged that he had made an error in providing the wrong address, despite initially insisting that it was correct. He claimed that his actual residence is located at 102 Coronation Road, and invited the Commission to visit his home.
The Council has been rocked by allegations of corruption and incompetence which have negatively impacted service delivery.
Previous council officials who testified before the commission made damning confessions, including that councillors squandered more than US$11 million on weekly workshops and seminars in the first seven months of 2024.
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