News / National
Prophet Makandiwa illegally acquired large tracts of land
03 May 2012 at 07:06hrs | Views
Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa's United Family International Church (UFIC) has admitted to irregularly acquiring huge tracts of land from Chitungwiza Town Council and has asked the local authority to "regularise the state of affairs". This followed the adoption of a probe report by the joint meeting of the public works, town lands and environment management; education, housing and community service; and general purpose committes on how UFIC accuired the land.
The committees on Tuesday recommended the arrest of housing and community director, Jemina Gumbo for allegedly facilitating the illegal transactions. Gumbo, the committee recommended, should be "prosecuted for criminal abuse of office as a public officer".
The report by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo's special investigating team on land also unearthed a litany of clandestine land deals which resulted in the council allocating Prophet Makandiwa's UFI church three stands instead of one stand the church had paid for. The stands' land use was not meant for church building. In one of the deals, council purportedly claimed to have sold a 2,000-square metre (sq m) stand to UFIC when in reality it was over 92,000 sq m.
"A Lease Agreement on the stands was signed on the 12th of July 2011 and indicated as measuring 2,000 sq m... The measurement is not correct because the actual stand size is 92,130 sq m. The stand does not exist on the Chitungwiza Town Centre layout Plan (ref E591 03/02/1987 produced by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development's Department of Physical Planning because all land administered by Chitungwiza Municipality is State land," reads the report.
The report further said: "According to available records, stand 19770, whose size is 182,725 sq m belongs to Chenjeral T. Madamombe that UFIC is constructing, not on the stand on the file and plan."
In view of these, and numerous other alleged indiscretions, the team recommended Gumbo's arrest, saying: "The Director of Housing and Community Services, Ms Jemina Gumbo, should be charged and prosecuted for criminal abuse of office as a public officer.
(a) She usurped council authority or powers in the allocation of stands in particular to UFIC and signing the deed of settlement with Chenjeral Madamombe without council authority for the same stand.
(b) She did not seek any council resolution on allocating the stands to different persons.
(c) She made multiple allocations for the same stands without any good reason.
(d) She also disregarded the mandatory provisions of section 26 (3) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act and allocated stands for purposes other (than) those permitted in terms of the approved layout plans."
In apparent admission to the irregular way the church acquired the stands, UFIC lawyers Mushangwe and Company in a letter to acting town clerk Fungai Mbetsa dated 13 April 2012, asked council to "rectify the state of affairs and relinquish its right, title and interest in stand number 19769 which property is being surrendered back to council".
The letter further reads: "Our client hereby relinquishes its right, title and interest in stand number 19769 which property is being surrendered to council. Further to our agreement, we would like to seek the indulgence of the council to rectify the state of affairs by allowing our client to apply for permission to use and develop stand number 19770 which is 180,000 square metres in extent. They are building a mega church on the stand which will sit 17,000 people and the project is currently 80% complete with the administration block, ablution facilities and structure of the church already complete."
The letter added: "Our clients wish to proceed to apply for change of use at property they are constructing should you be amenable to their proposals.
Mbetsa yesterday confirmed that the resuscitation team's recommendations were adopted.
"The report was discussed and we recommend that UFIC should comply with provisions of the law for change of use, then council would consider their application," he said.
The UFIC matter is due for deliberations by the full council soon.
The committees on Tuesday recommended the arrest of housing and community director, Jemina Gumbo for allegedly facilitating the illegal transactions. Gumbo, the committee recommended, should be "prosecuted for criminal abuse of office as a public officer".
The report by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo's special investigating team on land also unearthed a litany of clandestine land deals which resulted in the council allocating Prophet Makandiwa's UFI church three stands instead of one stand the church had paid for. The stands' land use was not meant for church building. In one of the deals, council purportedly claimed to have sold a 2,000-square metre (sq m) stand to UFIC when in reality it was over 92,000 sq m.
"A Lease Agreement on the stands was signed on the 12th of July 2011 and indicated as measuring 2,000 sq m... The measurement is not correct because the actual stand size is 92,130 sq m. The stand does not exist on the Chitungwiza Town Centre layout Plan (ref E591 03/02/1987 produced by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development's Department of Physical Planning because all land administered by Chitungwiza Municipality is State land," reads the report.
The report further said: "According to available records, stand 19770, whose size is 182,725 sq m belongs to Chenjeral T. Madamombe that UFIC is constructing, not on the stand on the file and plan."
In view of these, and numerous other alleged indiscretions, the team recommended Gumbo's arrest, saying: "The Director of Housing and Community Services, Ms Jemina Gumbo, should be charged and prosecuted for criminal abuse of office as a public officer.
(a) She usurped council authority or powers in the allocation of stands in particular to UFIC and signing the deed of settlement with Chenjeral Madamombe without council authority for the same stand.
(b) She did not seek any council resolution on allocating the stands to different persons.
(c) She made multiple allocations for the same stands without any good reason.
(d) She also disregarded the mandatory provisions of section 26 (3) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act and allocated stands for purposes other (than) those permitted in terms of the approved layout plans."
In apparent admission to the irregular way the church acquired the stands, UFIC lawyers Mushangwe and Company in a letter to acting town clerk Fungai Mbetsa dated 13 April 2012, asked council to "rectify the state of affairs and relinquish its right, title and interest in stand number 19769 which property is being surrendered back to council".
The letter further reads: "Our client hereby relinquishes its right, title and interest in stand number 19769 which property is being surrendered to council. Further to our agreement, we would like to seek the indulgence of the council to rectify the state of affairs by allowing our client to apply for permission to use and develop stand number 19770 which is 180,000 square metres in extent. They are building a mega church on the stand which will sit 17,000 people and the project is currently 80% complete with the administration block, ablution facilities and structure of the church already complete."
The letter added: "Our clients wish to proceed to apply for change of use at property they are constructing should you be amenable to their proposals.
Mbetsa yesterday confirmed that the resuscitation team's recommendations were adopted.
"The report was discussed and we recommend that UFIC should comply with provisions of the law for change of use, then council would consider their application," he said.
The UFIC matter is due for deliberations by the full council soon.
Source - Newsday
