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Chombo has a case to answer |
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Friday, 03 December 2010 |
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is shocked by the Minister of Local Government’s insistence on innocence after the shocking revelations of part of his vast empire. The fact that the ‘honourable’ minister had the audacity to order his lawyers to threaten the Herald reporter with legal action clearly shows that he is frantically trying to hide behind a finger.
First, it was the City of Harare Land Audit Committee that exposed the Minister’s vast tracts of land in Harare which he acquired through illicit means just by using the influence of his position as the Minister of Local Government. The Minister was quick to accuse the City of Harare Councilors for defamation of character and, as if that was not enough, his partner in crime, Philip Chiyangwa went on to order the police to arrest the Harare Mayor and his Councilors! It defies logic to note that instead of the police carrying out investigations to verify the Harare Land Audit report, the accusers were arrested instead of the accused. It is also a mortifying fact to note that the same man who suspended Councilors on allegations of corruptly acquiring houses and stands, actually owns more than five houses himself and has more than 20 stands in Harare alone and more in other urban areas. LOGICALLY, HE MUST BE FIRED AND NOT SUSPENDED.
Please note: this is against the backdrop of the City of Harare having a whopping 700 000 people on housing waiting list. Harare is still battling with victims of Operation Murambatsvina who have remained in the condition of homelessness; a condition that was deliberately and mercilessly imposed on them by Chombo’s ministry, through the witless Sekesayi Makwavarara. The notorious exercise, which was meant to “restore order”, has created unimaginable chaos in most urban areas as well as in the lives of the victims. CHRA and other organisations like Amnesty International Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have had a torrid time fighting against the forced evictions of victims of Operation Murambatsvina who have retired to living in plastic shacks in Mukuvisi, Glen View 1, Gunhill and Highlands. One is compelled to question the integrity of a Minister who purports to identify with the plight of the homeless and yet he has more stands and houses than the Councilors he is accusing of unprocedurally acquiring properties.
Chombo should be reminded that nothing remains hidden. He has graced both the electronic and print media, castigating Councilors for engaging in corrupt activities as if he himself is a saint. Or was it just a ploy to silence the Councilors who had stepped on his toes and warn would be overzealous ones to stay clear of his business; or better still to divert the attention of the public from himself to the Councilors? The other thing that makes this issue a laugh out loud matter is the way in which the ‘honourable’ minister is frantically trying to come up with stories so as to distance himself from his vast acquisitions. The Minister is now attributing some of the properties to his son and close relatives! Surely, Chombo must think that the residents of Harare and Zimbabwe at large are dump heads who have no analytical capacities whatsoever. Or that the directives he issues will never get into the public domain!
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND MINISTER!
It is clear that there is no way the Minister’s estranged wife would have just dreamt of the properties out of the blue and then mistaken her son’s properties to be those of her husband. We wonder who is being divorced, the father or the son??? Chombo should be man enough to face the music. He must explain to the public how he got all those properties and why he has continued to primitively amass wealth for himself while the people he purports to represent are languishing in poverty. The Minister owes it to the residents to clear the air; and by clearing the air we mean accepting that he has been exposed and then face up to the possible consequences of his corrupt activities. The Minister’s efforts to justify and clear himself by denying the truth, only serve to anger the residents more as it insults public intelligence.
Lastly, the Portfolio committee on Local Government must be commended for the position it has taken to bring Chombo to account. We maintain therefore that all people who shall testify or give evidence be protected by law from possible victimization. The Minister must appear in person when called and these processes must be open to the public.
CHRA REITERATES THE ENSHRINING OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION
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ZINWA Act