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Local government media tracker – 09 September 2013
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
September 09, 2013

More relief for residents
The Herald

Government has ordered all 92 local authorities countrywide to immediately surrender back houses and housing stands they repossessed from aspiring home owners who failed to settle payments accrued at the height of the sanctions-induced economic crisis. The councils were further instructed to extend payment periods and development moratoriums by up to 20 years to give hard-pressed people the chance to settle their dues. Outgoing Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo said those who defaulted on payments were supposed to be given a grace period of up to 20 years to settle the arrears. He said for the over a decade he superintended over most MDC-T local authorities, some aspiring home owners and elderly widows lost their properties that were in turn given to the opposition party’s supporters and councillors. The directive to restore the properties to their owners was contained in the same letters on bill cancellations that were sent to local authorities, Minister Chombo said. The Minister’s directive to scrap bills is in terms of Section 133 of the Rural District Councils Act Chapter 29:13 as read with Section 303 of the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15, where councils were directed to write off debts in respect of rentals, unit tax, development levy, refuse charges and water and sewer fees as at 30 June, 2013. And similarly, amounts owed by residents in respect of rates since February 2009 stand prescribed in terms of Section 15 of the Prescription Act Chapter 8:11 but most local authorities concentrated on bills cancellation only. Minister Chombo said for the period he superintended over the MDC-T councils, he witnessed scores of people losing their properties that were later shared among top MDC-T officials in councils countrywide.

Bills, clarify for residents – Ministry
The Herald

The Government has instructed local authorities to clearly spell out to residents how they have affected the directive to write off bills accumulated in the last four years. Residents, especially in Bulawayo, have been complaining that the Bulawayo City Council has not been clear on how the order has been implemented, with some alleging that bills were not being totally cancelled. Local Government, Rural and Urban Development permanent secretary Mr Killian Mpingo said in an interview that local authorities should use their public relations departments to disseminate the information to residents. This is purely a public relations matter to maintain harmony between the local authorities and residents. Bulawayo residents in the western suburbs said it was still unclear whether council had totally written off their debts, as they were yet to receive bills, since the promulgation of the directive, just before the elections. The Government announced just before the July 31 harmonised elections that the country's 92 local authorities should cancel debts accrued by residents between February 2009 and June 30 this year. The directive was meant to bring relief to millions of Zimbabweans who have been economically disempowered by the west's illegal sanctions regimes. President Mugabe said the directive was irreversible and it was not a political campaign gimmick as alleged by other people. Local authorities that include Harare, Chitungwiza and Masvingo have already implemented the directive. Residents have called on Government to extend the directive to cover electricity bills.

Anti-corruption report fingers Chombo
The Zimbabwe Mail

Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo has been fingered in a corruption report produced by the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (Zacc) and submitted to the Harare Regional Courts. Chombo is alleged to have fraudulently acquired a piece of land designated as a “public place” in Glen Lorne. He allegedly sold the property which he had not paid for, according to the report. This emerged in court during the trial of Zacc commissioner Emmanuel Chimwanda who is accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act. Chombo’s name came out as defence counsel Jonathan Samukange was cross examining Zacc chairperson Denford Chirindo who is a witness in the case. Regional Magistrate Hosea Mujaya, however, ruled that the report should be read as prosecutor Michael Reza was agreeable to its reading since it was part of the State papers in the case. Part of the report, as read by Chirindo, stated that on June 25, 2004, the then local government secretary Simon Pazvakavambwa wrote to Harare City Council to transfer the land, sub-division “K” of Nthaba Glen Lorne, Harare, to Chombo saying it was allocated to him in 1995. On November 19, 2004, the city’s director of works Psychology Chiwanga is said to have told the City Valuer and Estates Manager that he had no objection to the transfer but, according to the report, he “had no authority from the Harare City Council” to do so. On January 7, 2005, Chirindo said council lawyers, Honey and Blanckenberg, requested the agreement of sale between Chombo and the local authority. The latter, however, only responded on February 2, 2006, and enclosed the title deed. The then town clerk Nomutsa Chideya indicated that no payment had been made and suggested that either the State should pay the city council or they could consider a land swap.

On December 12, 2006, a local government ministry official identified as W. Chimba wrote to the town clerk agreeing to a land swap and acknowledged in the letter that the land in question belonged to the city. On June 2008, Chimba wrote to the town clerk ordering the transfer of the land to someone else on the basis that Chombo had sold it. “Chombo sold a stand he never purchased himself,” the Zacc report says. In 2011 Harare city councillors had filed a fraud case against Chombo at the police’s Serious Fraud division for alleged illegal acquisition of land in the capital.

Government clarifies position on mayors
The Herald

Government has instructed provincial and District Administrators to ensure that those elected as Mayors and chairpersons of Councils come from elected councillors when they preside over the inauguration of councils expected soon. Secretary for Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Mr Killian Mpingo wrote to the provincial administrators clarifying the position on the election of mayors and council chairpersons following the harmonised elections held on July 31. He spelt out the Government position basing his facts on Section 274 (2) as read with Sections 265(2) and 275 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. "It is underscored that in terms of Section 274 (2) as read with Section 265 (2) and Section 275 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 20, Mayors and chairpersons shall be elected from among elected councillors. The directive has sparked debate, with the MDC-T filing an urgent chamber application at the Electoral Court seeking to compel the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development to allow non-councillors to be elected as Mayors and chairpersons of local authorities. In the application filed by MDC-T lawyers, Mwonzora and Associates, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development and provincial administrators for Harare and Bulawayo were cited as respondents. The inauguration of the council mayors and chairpersons had initially been set for last Tuesday, but it was deferred indefinitely. MDC-T secretary for Local Government Mr Blessing Chebundo disposed an affidavit on behalf of the party indicating that they had already held their caucus to select mayoral candidates for all cities including Harare and Bulawayo and that some of the preferred candidates were not elected councillors. The party selected outgoing Justice and Legal Affairs deputy minister Obert Gutu, a lawyer, as nominee for Harare Mayorship.

Water woes - a blessing in disguise for chitown youths
The Herald

Water woes in Chitungwiza have created opportunities for some unemployed youths who are now selling water to those who do not want to spend time in long queues at boreholes. Residents have now gone for over two weeks without tap water and this situation has driven some youths to sell it (water) to those who do not want to spend a long time in queues. When The Herald visited Chikwanha Shopping Centre and parts of Zengeza 2, 3 and 4 yesterday, several youths could be seen pushing carts laden with water containers to and from boreholes. One of the youths in Zengeza 2, who identified himself as Clinton Makumbe, said although the water woes were affecting a lot of people in the town, for him it was a blessing in disguise as he is now able to make a quick buck selling water. "The water crisis has provided us with the opportunity to make money since we are unemployed. I'm now earning a living through selling water. For each 20-litre container, I charge R3 and I can fetch as many as 160 buckets of water every day," he said. Mbuya Gunda, who resides in Zengeza 4, said the situation was hard for her as she now spends over three hours in the long queues at the borehole waiting for her turn to fetch water. "This situation has become very difficult for us. Our toilets are dirty and we have no water at our house. We are lucky to be alive otherwise we should be dead from cholera. Chitungwiza municipality public relations manager Mr Zephaniah Zuze said the pump that supplies water from Harare to Chitungwiza had a break down resulting in the water shortages. "Residents of Chitungwiza should expect tap water anytime this week since we are about to complete repairs on the pump which supplies water from Harare to Chitungwiza which had burst.

Urban water woes now fighting
NewsDay

Reports of residents in Zimbabwe’s urban areas resorting to the bush toilet system because the cities have no running water are not only disturbing, but frightful too. They bring back memories of the 2008 nightmare when over 4 000 people across the country died from diseases associated with water shortages, such as cholera and typhoid. In Gweru, residents are reported to have gone for a week without water while in some areas of Harare and Chitungwiza residents have had no running water for close to a whole month. What this means is that our cities are now sitting on a health time bomb and there is need for government, through local authorities, to attend to the issue as a life-and-death matter which it is. It is hard to fault critics that, in light of such a crisis, question the wisdom of Zanu-PF, through its official, Ignatius Chombo, the outgoing Local Government minister, to scrap water and other utility bills. The move no doubt incapacitates local authorities’ efforts to deliver clean water to residents of our towns and cities. Political pontificating cannot come above human life and politicians should really be wary of the temptation to sacrifice the lives of people on the altar of politics. Local authorities have already implemented the debt scrapping directive and many of them, like Bulawayo; have been prejudiced of many millions of dollars. So, the city fathers and local authorities’ executives have to grapple with the water crisis with empty coffers and a disgruntled workforce that goes for months without pay. Harare City Council is running everywhere looking for financial bailout, but not all of them will be lucky. The Council was negotiating with the Chinese for funding for Major national water programmes such as the Kunzvi Dam which has remained on the drawing board for over three decades have crumbled, just like other national projects such as the Zambezi Water Project and the Chitungwiza Railway Project, among others. Other projects that would have benefited from the money that government, through the ruling party, has decided to throw away for political mileage include the Mtshabezi Dam pipeline. The country’s cities have been taken back to medieval means of water sourcing and transporting the precious liquid on bowsers. Still, residents remain with some hope that as he appoints his new Cabinet, the President will take cognisance of the fact that a Local Government minister should be one that is up to the task. A hardworking technocrat that handles matters of our cities with a level head and not greed, corrupt and selfish political animals.

Water, power infrastructure set to improve
NewsDay

Progress on the procurement of equipment for the rehabilitation and reinforcement of infrastructure in the energy and water sector has begun with some of the equipment expected in the country this month, an African Development Bank (AFDB) official has said. AfDB Zimbabwe Multi Donor Trust Fund manager Emmanuel Nzabanita said the implementation of the rehabilitation process had already begun in Mutare, Kwekwe, Masvingo, Chitungwiza and other places in the country. “We are implementing the project and 250 transformers are on their way to Zimbabwe while the other transformers will be coming later. The transformers are coming from India while the switchgears will be from Europe. He said $4 million had been used for the power sector while the $8 million has been channeled for water projects. Nzabanita early this year said donor countries that include Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom and others contributed $125 million to AfDB for water and electricity projects in the country. The donors raised the funds and AfDB was to manage the funds on behalf of donor countries. Upon the completion of the project, 600 transformers were expected to have been availed. The country has been facing power and electricity problems due to ageing equipment. The power sector’s oldest power station is more than 30 years old. The water sector has some of its pumps that have not been rehabilitated for over 20 years. Local authorities throughout the country have been failing to provide potable water to residents due to leakages of water through dilapidated equipment. Government in 2010 said it would spend at least $100 million towards the rehabilitation of Hwange and Kariba power stations and three small thermal stations that include Bulawayo, Harare and Munyati. Power demand for the nation was estimated at 2 000 megawatts against available output of 1 200 megawatts.

Town’s water woes to end
The Herald

Water woes that have hit Chitungwiza for over two weeks now are set to ease as council has finished repairing the pump that supplies water from Harare to the town that had broken down. Chitungwiza Municipality public relations manager Mr Zephaniah Mandirahwe said they had finished working on the pump and water was expected to flow starting with lower areas. The Municipality had completed repairing the water pump that supply water from Harare to Chitungwiza and right now residents who live in the lower areas are beginning to receive tap water. Mr Mandirahwe said people should get tap water at least once a week as they used to do before the crisis. He said the major challenge they were facing was that they were receiving low capacities of water which was not enough to pump to all the areas of Chitungwiza.

City secures cash to ease water problems
The Herald

Refurbishment of the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant expected to begin next month is set to ease water problems facing Harare. The council secured a US$144 million loan from a Chinese Export Import Bank and has already acquired material to be used for the refurbishment of the 60-year-old plant that is producing only 400 megalitres of water per day. The Town Clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi yesterday said after the refurbishment the plant would operate at full capacity and produce an average of 640 megalitres per day. “The immediate impact of the loan would be to increase water treatment capacity by 140 mega litres from the current average capacity of 600 megalitres a day,” Dr Mahachi told a delegation from Sinosure, a Chinese insurance company that insured the US$144 million loan.

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