News / Local
Residential stands scandal rocks Bulawayo
11 Jan 2015 at 03:39hrs | Views
A RESIDENTIAL stands scandal has rocked the Bulawayo City Council's Housing and Community Services department where officials shadily sold more stands than those available in Luveve, with the local authority reportedly dispatching its audit teams to investigate the matter.
This comes amid allegations that some council officials were fast-tracking stand application forms upon receiving bribes from members of the public.
The scam has also sucked in councillors who allegedly approach senior officials at the department for "favours" in the allocation of stands within the city.
It is alleged that the local authority now has to find close to 200 optional stands after they sold stands to 1 000 desperate homeseekers against 800 available stands in Luveve, amid suspicion that some officials sold stands to "their people" in total disregard to a list drawn from the housing waiting list.
Beneficiaries paid at least $1 700 as deposit for the stands. The stands cost at least $3 200 for the smallest size, 200 square metres.
It is also alleged that officials in the housing department also arranged for an official from the housing office to travel to the United Kingdom to collect money made from the unscrupulous sale of the Luveve stands.
Confirming these developments, the city's acting town clerk, Mrs Sikhangele Zhou, said they were investigating the issue and all corrupt officials would soon be brought to book.
"We only learnt about this anomaly recently which is worrying because these stands were despatched a couple of years ago. The audit team is currently investigating the matter so that first we establish what really went wrong, punish whoever is found on the wrong side of the law and ensure that residents who were affected can be compensated with other stands.
"Just as proof of the magnitude of this scam, one cannot just sell a housing stand to an individual without having first shown them the stand. Whenever someone pays for a stand, they are supposed to be given a house number. Besides, stands themselves can never have similar prices as this is determined by the size of the stand. Therefore, it is not only impossible for one to just sell stands (without showing the buyer) but it is also illegal," said Mrs Zhou.
She called on members of the public who were affected to approach council and assured them not to panic as council had already identified land in Magwegwe North where they would be allocated stands.
The acting town clerk also revealed that if any official travelled to the United Kingdom to collect money for stands, this was done outside council.
"Yes, at times we have engaged the diaspora community in terms of possible investment opportunities in the country but I am not aware of any situation where we have sent anyone to the diaspora," she said.
On councillors being implicated in the housing scam, the city's mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo, said while there was nothing wrong with councillors assisting residents with ready cash in getting stands, it was illegal and a punishable offence when they solicit for bribes to play the middleman role.
"I have had a lot of people come to me requesting that I assist them in getting stands. I see nothing wrong with me putting in a good word for them within the (Housing and Community Services) department but it only becomes illegal and reportable when we have someone soliciting for bribes in exchange for playing a middleman's role.
"Another problem is that our records are genuinely in shambles. While we have application forms dating back to the 1980s, we cannot easily locate most of the applicants because council only computerised its records less than 10 years ago. Therefore, you find some people end up exploiting the system," said Clr Moyo.
He said the ideal situation especially with high density low income stands, was that council religiously follows the housing waiting list when allocating these stands.
"The only time when someone can jump the waiting list is probably when they have ready cash and when the shortlisted individuals do not respond to calls that they have been shortlisted to get the stands.
"It is only in the low-density suburbs that we can ignore the housing waiting list and prioritise people with ready cash. As council, we keep it in mind that our housing waiting list has ballooned to over 100 000. We try by all means that we work towards effectively reducing this figure," said the mayor.
However, the city's director of Housing and Community Services, Mr Isaiah Magagula, downplayed the alleged scandal within his department, saying these were malicious reports being spread by people who wanted to discredit the way council was being run.
"Why do people want to cause unnecessary panic and look for dirt where there is no dirt, it is a fact that we haven't recently allocated any stands, so I wonder what scam they are talking about. All those allegations are all lies," said Mr Magagula.
Impeccable council sources, however, revealed that the senior officials within the department were at the core of the scam, using their influence to allocate stands willy-nilly.
"They have the power and they really exploit it. What they are doing is that someone who has an application form which is as recent as last year (2014) can easily get a stand as long as they pay $500. They make it seem as if the application form is dated in the 90s hence making them eligible to get a stand," said the source.
Some officials in the department have since been earmarked for transfer after voicing their concerns on the anomalies.
The source revealed that the transfers were in preparation for new stands that were set to be released in Magwegwe North, Magwegwe West and Tshabalala Extension.
Contacted for comment, two officials implicated in the irregular sale of stands dismissed the allegations claiming that these were malicious accusations being spread by someone who was aggrieved by their "exemplary" conduct within the local authority.
"These are serious malicious allegations. I am sure that whoever is saying that is so aggrieved and wants to destroy me. I am even shocked at the power that is being allocated to me. Yes I am a boss there but some of the things that I am being accused of I cannot do alone.
"As a public figure, I invite anyone who wants to investigate me to be free to do so and if I am found to be on the wrong side of the law I am willing to be punished but I can tell you that my books are all in order. Even the house I am currently staying in, you can check how I got it and I can even further prove where I got the money to purchase the stand and build," said one of the officials.
This comes amid allegations that some council officials were fast-tracking stand application forms upon receiving bribes from members of the public.
The scam has also sucked in councillors who allegedly approach senior officials at the department for "favours" in the allocation of stands within the city.
It is alleged that the local authority now has to find close to 200 optional stands after they sold stands to 1 000 desperate homeseekers against 800 available stands in Luveve, amid suspicion that some officials sold stands to "their people" in total disregard to a list drawn from the housing waiting list.
Beneficiaries paid at least $1 700 as deposit for the stands. The stands cost at least $3 200 for the smallest size, 200 square metres.
It is also alleged that officials in the housing department also arranged for an official from the housing office to travel to the United Kingdom to collect money made from the unscrupulous sale of the Luveve stands.
Confirming these developments, the city's acting town clerk, Mrs Sikhangele Zhou, said they were investigating the issue and all corrupt officials would soon be brought to book.
"We only learnt about this anomaly recently which is worrying because these stands were despatched a couple of years ago. The audit team is currently investigating the matter so that first we establish what really went wrong, punish whoever is found on the wrong side of the law and ensure that residents who were affected can be compensated with other stands.
"Just as proof of the magnitude of this scam, one cannot just sell a housing stand to an individual without having first shown them the stand. Whenever someone pays for a stand, they are supposed to be given a house number. Besides, stands themselves can never have similar prices as this is determined by the size of the stand. Therefore, it is not only impossible for one to just sell stands (without showing the buyer) but it is also illegal," said Mrs Zhou.
She called on members of the public who were affected to approach council and assured them not to panic as council had already identified land in Magwegwe North where they would be allocated stands.
The acting town clerk also revealed that if any official travelled to the United Kingdom to collect money for stands, this was done outside council.
"Yes, at times we have engaged the diaspora community in terms of possible investment opportunities in the country but I am not aware of any situation where we have sent anyone to the diaspora," she said.
On councillors being implicated in the housing scam, the city's mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo, said while there was nothing wrong with councillors assisting residents with ready cash in getting stands, it was illegal and a punishable offence when they solicit for bribes to play the middleman role.
"I have had a lot of people come to me requesting that I assist them in getting stands. I see nothing wrong with me putting in a good word for them within the (Housing and Community Services) department but it only becomes illegal and reportable when we have someone soliciting for bribes in exchange for playing a middleman's role.
"Another problem is that our records are genuinely in shambles. While we have application forms dating back to the 1980s, we cannot easily locate most of the applicants because council only computerised its records less than 10 years ago. Therefore, you find some people end up exploiting the system," said Clr Moyo.
He said the ideal situation especially with high density low income stands, was that council religiously follows the housing waiting list when allocating these stands.
"The only time when someone can jump the waiting list is probably when they have ready cash and when the shortlisted individuals do not respond to calls that they have been shortlisted to get the stands.
"It is only in the low-density suburbs that we can ignore the housing waiting list and prioritise people with ready cash. As council, we keep it in mind that our housing waiting list has ballooned to over 100 000. We try by all means that we work towards effectively reducing this figure," said the mayor.
However, the city's director of Housing and Community Services, Mr Isaiah Magagula, downplayed the alleged scandal within his department, saying these were malicious reports being spread by people who wanted to discredit the way council was being run.
"Why do people want to cause unnecessary panic and look for dirt where there is no dirt, it is a fact that we haven't recently allocated any stands, so I wonder what scam they are talking about. All those allegations are all lies," said Mr Magagula.
Impeccable council sources, however, revealed that the senior officials within the department were at the core of the scam, using their influence to allocate stands willy-nilly.
"They have the power and they really exploit it. What they are doing is that someone who has an application form which is as recent as last year (2014) can easily get a stand as long as they pay $500. They make it seem as if the application form is dated in the 90s hence making them eligible to get a stand," said the source.
Some officials in the department have since been earmarked for transfer after voicing their concerns on the anomalies.
The source revealed that the transfers were in preparation for new stands that were set to be released in Magwegwe North, Magwegwe West and Tshabalala Extension.
Contacted for comment, two officials implicated in the irregular sale of stands dismissed the allegations claiming that these were malicious accusations being spread by someone who was aggrieved by their "exemplary" conduct within the local authority.
"These are serious malicious allegations. I am sure that whoever is saying that is so aggrieved and wants to destroy me. I am even shocked at the power that is being allocated to me. Yes I am a boss there but some of the things that I am being accused of I cannot do alone.
"As a public figure, I invite anyone who wants to investigate me to be free to do so and if I am found to be on the wrong side of the law I am willing to be punished but I can tell you that my books are all in order. Even the house I am currently staying in, you can check how I got it and I can even further prove where I got the money to purchase the stand and build," said one of the officials.
Source - Sunday News
