Unanswered Zimbabwe Governance Issues

Opinion

By Themba Mliswa.

Norton Legislator this week wrote a thread on the mucky business Government created at the expense of citizens, following a futile meeting, of Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume of the Citizen Coalition for Change and the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, July Moyo.

Here is the thread:-

“This week it was revealed that the country’s chief kleptomaniac, July Moyo, met with Jacob Mafume to a meeting in which he told the Mayor that the Pomona deal will now be financed by Central Government.

It’s worrying to note that this administration has taken an unhealthy interest in funding a private project with little or no benefit to the public at large. It is clear that this is a murky project which is meant to benefit July’s cronies.

The most heartbreaking thing is that the second republic has been reduced to look like it’s a heartless regime which caters for a few well connected people who loot state resources with reckless abandon.

From the look of things this rubbish of a project has been classified as a project of National status, how and why it qualifies to be project that is that important boggles the mind.

We should bear in mind that Harare City Council has its own critical projects that are high priority based on their importance to the general public.

If July Moyo was huffing and puffing forcing Harare City Council to sort out the bad drinking water that council is pumping we would have at least supported him.

According to the report in last week’s independent the residents of Harare, Norton and Chitungwiza are exposed to an imminent health crisis because July is not processing money for critical water treatment project.

Maybe our government is sending a clear message to the people of a greater Harare, that it does not care at all about their well-being. How else can one explain this?

What further disrobing is that the Pomona deal is not essentially a waste Management deal but power generation project, more specifically a waste to energy project? It becomes imperative that this project should fall under the purview of ZERA and ZESA.

Indicative figures from elsewhere show that a power generation project of this magnitude should cost northwards of US$30 million. What boggles the mind is that this project is estimated to cost US$345 million.

It should be noted that councils used to operate Thermal Power Station until they were transferred to ZESA. So in this case why not let ZESA handle issues to do with energy? Nguwaya’s company should be getting money from selling power to ZESA and not from Council.

The questions that need answers are: why is July Moyo forcing down the throats of people of Zimbabwe a power generations project that is riddled with irregularities?

Why wasn’t it subjected to the normal Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) tendering process like all bona fide projects?

Why is July operating with impunity? Is he doing it to please his appointing authority, or perhaps he wants to drag his appointing authority down the sewage line.

Are the members of the ZANU PF central committee, Politburo and the common card carrying members happy with the blatant acts of corruption and self-enrichment that July is embarking on?
Why is July Moyo not implementing the requests from the City Council? Does his expertise supersede that of Council executives?

Among other things, our City Councils are battling to provide clean water to the residents. Councils are battling to acquire refuse compactors.

The state of urban roads is a shame. There is practically no street lighting. Council clinics are closing shop. It boggles the mind that July Moyo will not speak about improving service delivery, all he does is to force irrelevant projects like the water pumps, and the fire tenders on councils for the benefit of his cronies. The Brazen corruption where is the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) this circus has to be stopped!

The last time I checked, ZANU PF had a slogan, which went “ZANU PF vanhu, vanhu I ZANU” nowadays it looks like ZANU is now for a few kleptomaniacs and the people have been left to deal with poverty on their own. It’s heartbreaking, “said Temba Mliswa.