Explosive corruption report handed to Mnangagwa

A political firestorm is erupting at Town House following the submission of a damning report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, which exposes endemic corruption, systemic mismanagement, and the virtual collapse of governance at Harare City Council.

The report, compiled by a Commission of Inquiry led by retired High Court judge Justice Maphios Cheda, is the result of months of forensic investigations. It paints a bleak picture of a city in the grip of powerful syndicates, where senior officials, councillors, and politically connected businesspeople have allegedly turned municipal institutions into personal cash cows.

"There are too many dirty hands in the cookie jar, and they are still there," Justice Cheda said, after officially handing the report to President Mnangagwa. His words echo the frustration of Harare residents, who have long suffered the consequences of a dysfunctional council.

According to sources familiar with the contents of the report, the investigation uncovered widespread abuse of public resources, including manipulation of council-run enterprises, the diversion of funds, and deliberate weakening of governance structures. The commission identified ongoing revenue leakages at entities like Harare Quarry, City Parking, and Rufaro Marketing, with millions reportedly lost to fraud and political interference.

Prominent among those implicated are sitting councillors from the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who are accused of demanding prime land in Harare's affluent suburbs in exchange for political favours - a move critics say prioritised personal enrichment over public service.

The report also reveals that a non-functional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system left the city vulnerable to unchecked exploitation. A controversial US$57 million ERP procurement project, undertaken without approval from either the Treasury or the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ), is cited as a key example of how governance was intentionally undermined.

Beyond financial irregularities, the inquiry documented a toxic internal culture marked by intimidation, retaliation, and suppression of whistleblowers. Residents and municipal workers who attempted to raise alarms reportedly faced threats from entrenched cliques determined to protect their influence.

Justice Cheda stressed that the Commission's work is done, and it is now up to the President to act. "The report belongs to His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, and he has it with him. We provided a platform for residents to speak. They said what they wanted to say. We compiled the report and we are comfortable with it," he said.

Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe echoed the Commission's findings, describing Harare as the worst-case example of the broader decay plaguing Zimbabwe's urban councils. "This Commission is borne out of the decay in our local authorities. Harare City Council is number one, and Bulawayo City Council is number two," he said.

Garwe confirmed that further probes could be launched into other urban authorities, depending on the President's directive. "The President has to go through the report and give us the way forward. But we are happy that we have submitted the report in terms of the mandate he gave to the Commission," he said.

The revelations have sparked national outrage, with residents and civic groups demanding immediate accountability. The pressure is now on Mnangagwa to act decisively against those implicated and restore order to Harare's broken governance system.

For now, the explosive report sits on the President's desk - its contents potentially reshaping Zimbabwe's political and municipal landscape in the weeks to come.