Council rot sucks in Mafume, Rufaro Marketing directors

Suburban Reporter

THE rot within the City of Harare is deeper as more cases of alleged corruption and abuse of office against officials continue to be revealed.

This week the Commission of Inquiry into the operations of the City of Harare heard that Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume and two directors of Rufaro Marketing Private Limited were allegedly taking rentals from some tenants at Rufaro Marketing properties.

Witnesses appearing before the commission, implicated the Mayor Mafume and directors Juma Ulete and Ngoni Chimbalu of collecting rentals in United States dollars from some tenants.

According to the witnesses, the Mayor and the directors would collect the rentals and converting the money to their use. Rufaro Marketing was set up by the council to take over the former municipal liquor department and runs 86 beer halls and bottle stores in high density suburbs.

Appearing before the commission on Wednesday, Kandrick Investments general manager Mrs Rosemary Togarepi whose company rents two Rufaro Marketing beer outlets in Mbare and Highfield implicated Mayor Mafume and the two directors.

Kandrick Investments has been in a dispute with Rufaro Marketing over the two properties.

Speaking under cross-examination by prosecutor, Mr Thabani Mpofu, Mrs Togarepi said since 2022 they developed the two properties by constructing buildings and tuckshops leased to tenants.

She said her company took over the properties from TN Holdings and signed lease agreements with the municipality sometime in 2022.

“When we signed the lease agreements, Rufaro Marketing agreed to charge us US$3,500 in rentals per property per month.

“The dispute with Rufaro Marketing started when we made developments at these two properties. At first we were approached by a councillor known as Makuwere of Highfield who raised various issues relating to the developments we had made,” she said.

She said Councillor Makuwere later alleged that Cllr Mafume had sent him to inform them that no developments should have been made at the beer outlet in Machipisa since council wanted to let it out to the Judicial Service Commission.

“He also said that Mayor Mafume was willing to talk to us and also expected a stake in our company. We did not bow down to the demands as we were doing everything above board.

“However, between May and October 2022, we received a notice from the Department of Works alleging that we were illegally occupying council land. We then approached the High Court to seek an interdict and for the city council to stop interfering with our work and it was granted,” Mrs Togarepi said.

“A few days later, Mr Ulete and Mr Chimbalu visited our premises and advised the tenants that they should stop making any payments to the company officials but to themselves. Messrs Ulete and Chimbalu further alleged that they had been appointed by Cllr Mafume to deal with businesspeople who had no lease agreements before they started collecting rentals from the tenants. They are also being implicated for also collecting rentals from other tenants in and around Harare.”

In May President Mnangagwa appointed a Commission of Inquiry to probe the City of Harare’s accounting systems and financial affairs over the last seven years.

Retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda is chairing the commission.

The Commission of Inquiry Act allows the President to set up a commission, to inquire into any matter in which any inquiry would, in the opinion of the President, be of public interest.  Justice Cheda’s commission has six months from May to complete its work, although it may request an additional three months if necessary.

Local government experts Steven Chakaipa, Norbert Phiri, Lucia Gladys Matibenga and Khonzani Ncube are the other members of the commission with the Permanent Secretary for Local Government and Public Works, Dr John Bhasera, as the inquiry panel’s secretary.