MAYOR MAFUME’S LUXURIOUS HOME FUNDED BY SHADY DEALS, DISREGARD OF COUNCIL REGULATIONS

A Commission of Inquiry, investigating the operations of Harare City Council, has said that Mayor Jacob Mafume may have engaged in underhanded activities to acquire his luxurious property in Belvedere, Harare.

 

Mafume has found himself at the centre of controversy as the Commission of Inquiry continues to unearth irregularities within the City Council.

 

The Mayor is under scrutiny after it emerged that his Belvedere residence, currently undergoing renovations, may have been funded through kickbacks from a company that had illegal dealings with the City Council.

 

The property in Belvedere is being renovated and when NewZimbabwe.com visited the area constructors could be seen on the site.

 

According to Mafume, the renovations have forced him to temporarily reside in Greendale and the Belvedere house to be turned into a student residence once complete.

 

 

Harare Commission of Inquiry evidence leader Tapiwa Godzi avered that Mafume is not following Council laws and procedures in the renovations of the house.

 

“We want you to bring an approved plan for that project because that project was not approved by Council. You did not make any application to undertake that project,” said Godzi.

 

According to the City council regulations, individuals must pay application fees for the approval of plans, and development fees, and obtain approved plans to undertake any project.

 

Mafume has denied the allegations insisting the project is legitimate and that there is a paper trail to prove that he did not use his position as Mayor to bypass procedures.

 

“To my knowledge, everything is above board. I have a contractor that I have used. We have made the applications. I had advised her (wife) to follow all the procedures that are required together with the contractor and I remember her telling me that building inspectors have come,” said Mafume.

 

HCC officials have been accused of using their positions at Town House to further their interest with some using it as a feeding trough at the expense of the ratepayers.

 

Mafume is no exception having previously been implicated in corrupt activities.

 

Godzi further claimed that Mafume pocketed US$200,000 from Quill Associates, a company that was supposed to implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The funds were allegedly used to purchase the Belvedere property.

 

He is also accused of insisting that the Council uses the company despite other cheaper options available.

 

“Quill Associates was summarily dismissed in 2019 by management. I disagreed with management when they dismissed Quill Associates summarily and they said we would get a new ERP. It was dismissed because it had charged us US$75,000.

 

“That (US$200,000 bribe) is a lie. I deny it,” he said. *_-NewZimbabwe_*