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Harare Commission legal, regional magistrate rules
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
September 06, 2006

http://www1.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=8533&cat=1&livedate=9/06/2006

THE Commission running the affairs of the City of Harare and the committee appointed to inquire into the conduct of suspended town clerk Mr Nomutsa Chideya are legal, Harare regional magistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe has ruled.

Mr Guvamombe, who chairs the committee of inquiry, yesterday dismissed arguments by Mr Chideya's defence counsel that the Harare Commission was illegal and also that his committee was not properly constituted.

The defence counsel wanted the Harare Commission to furnish it with documents requested by Mr Chideya to bolster his defence.

In his ruling, Mr Guvamombe said the reappointed Harare Commission was legal in view of Constitutional Amendment Number 17 which vested the organisation of all elections with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

He said if the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, Cde Ignatius Chombo, failed to appoint the commission in the absence of an elected council, there would be an administrative vacuum that would paralyse operations at Town House.

On the issue of requested documents, Mr Guvamombe ruled that Mr Chideya — with the assistance of council lawyer Mr Takunda Tivaone of Tivaone and Associates — should help in gathering the necessary material.

Mr Guvamombe also ruled that the commission was empowered to place more charges against Mr Chideya.

The matter was briefly postponed to allow the inquiry committee to deliberate on submissions by the defence counsel led by Advocate Linos Mazonde that Mr Guvamombe should recuse himself from the hearing because he was appointed by Cde Chombo as opposed to being appointed by the Harare Commission.

Adv Mazonde also wanted the initial judgment to continue with the hearing to be taken to the labour court for a review and for that court to determine whether the inquiry committee was properly constituted.

He felt because the matter was labour-related, the labour court would set aside the judgment by Mr Guvamombe.

For the inquiry committee not to be tainted with bias, Adv Mazonde said, there was need to allow another court to review the judgment to proceed with the matter.

But Mr Guvamombe refused to allow the arguments to stand saying the review could be done while the hearing was in process.

He said the matter of recusal was not an issue.

However, hearing later proceeded with three senior council officials testifying in the matter.

The three witnesses, acting director of housing and community services Mr James Chiyangwa and his two assistants — Mrs Agnes Fologwe and Mr Rodgers Mupambirei — exonerated Mr Chideya on allegations that he facilitated the allocation of residential stands in Southerton and flat accommodation to undeserving tenants.

The witnesses separately consented that it was standard procedure that anyone from outside council requiring such services would go through Mr Chideya's office and that Mr Chideya would subsequently ask the director of housing and community services to assist.

The final decision, they said, rested with the department of housing and community services.

Mr Mupambirei, who also chairs the housing allocations committee, said Mr Chideya was empowered to give instructions to his subordinates.

"There is nothing wrong with the town clerk making recommendations. We use common sense not to challenge directives. The town clerk did nothing wrong," said Mr Mupambirei.

Another witness, Mrs Fologwe, said the department operated without interference, adding that Mr Chideya had never personally communicated with her on matters to do with house and stand allocations.

She, however, said Trafalgar Court, in which one of the allocations was made to one council outsider, was reserved for council employees only.

She said there was nothing untoward in the conduct of Mr Chideya when he asked the acting director of housing and community services Mr James Chiyangwa to assist.

"Bureaucracy means you act then you complain later," she said in reference to the allocations of flats at Trafalgar and Eastlea.

Mrs Fologwe said senior Government officials, including the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, Cde Ignatius Chombo, and Commission chairperson Ms Sekesayi Makwavarara had also made similar requests, that were executed.

Mr Chiyangwa said it was proper for Mr Chideya to ask his office to assist. He said there are cases when his department has turned down because there was no merit.

"It is normal to have directives to assist. We get directives from a lot of higher offices either verbally, by phone or through letters. We have allocated a few as a result of these approaches," he said.

Both Mrs Fologwe and Mr Chiyangwa, responding to questions from Adv Mazonde, agreed that Ms Makwavarara was not entitled to buying the house in Reintfontein, Highlands because she was never a sitting tenant.

It was also brought to the attention of the inquiry committee that Ms Makwavarara did not deserve the house because she owns another property in Mabvuku.

The matter continues today.

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