Connect with us

National

Top Victoria Falls City Council official suspended

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Victoria Falls City Council’s finance director Neville Ndlovu has been suspended for undisclosed reasons as the MDC Alliance controlled local authority lurches from crisis to crisis.

Advertisement

Ronnie Dube, the town clerk, confirmed Ndlovu’s suspension to VicFallsLive on Friday, but he refused to give reasons for the move.

“Yes he is suspended, but I cannot divulge the allegations at this point in time,” Dube said.

Ndlovu has been leading the council’s 2023 budget formulation process and recently tabled a US$20 million budget, which was an increase of US$2 million from this year’s financial plan.

Advertisement

The council has been embroiled in financial scandals where the mayor Somvelo Dhlamini, who is currently in remand prison over fraud allegations, Dube and several councillors have been implicated.

Dube and Dhlamini are locked in a fierce fight for the control of the local authority and they have been trading corruption allegations against each other.

Their fight intensified in September when the mayor tried to suspend the town clerk under the pretext that he was supposed to pave way for investigations into the corruption allegations.

Advertisement

Dhlamini was arrested shortly after a group of war veterans and members of the Hwange Residents Association raided the town clerk’s office and locked him out.

Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association executive member Trymore Ndolo last month told a public meeting they had information allegedly showing how Dube and some councillors ‘corruptly’ sold commercial prime land known as Stand Number 8300.

Ndolo said the stand, which was earmarked for a water, hygiene and sanitation project, was sold for US$4 million instead of US$14 million that was agreed to by a full council meeting.

Advertisement

He claimed that councillors and Dube shared US$400 000 that was paid as a bribe by the lowest bidder for the stand.

The group said they wanted Dube to step aside to allow for investigations into allegations of corruption levelled against him to be concluded first.

The town clerk, however, said he will wait for on-going investigations by various agencies to be completed before he could speak about the allegations.

Advertisement

Dhlamini has been in remand prison in Hwange since his arrest last month over allegations that he fraudulently bought a housing stand from council.

Dhlamini is accused of prejudicing council of US$15 000 and a potential prejudice of US$66 462.75.

Dhlamini was previously suspended from the mayoral position by the MDC Alliance when it was still led by Nelson Chamisa, only to be reinstated by MDC Alliance leader Douglas Mwonzora after he seized control of the opposition party.

Advertisement

Last year, Dube was also arrested by Zimbabwe Electoral Commision Anti-Corruption Commision on allegations of corruption, but he was acquitted by the courts.

 

 

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Advertisement

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

Advertisement

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

National

ZIMRA customs officer appears in court for criminal abuse of office

Published

on

BY STAFF REPORTER 

A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) customs officer, Phillip Kuvenga, has been accused of criminal abuse of office for allegedly assisting in the importation of banned motor vehicles.

Advertisement

Kuvenga, 28, who is stationed at Victoria Falls, allegedly received documents from clients, completed valuation sheets, and carried out the valuation process. However, he is accused of endorsing different chassis numbers to deceive his supervisors during the validation and approval process.

After obtaining approval, Kuvenga would capture the correct chassis numbers in the ASYCUDA World System. He would then alter or replace the documents submitted earlier to his supervisors.

The offense came to light when a motor vehicle that had not yet arrived in Zimbabwe was found to have been already registered. A thorough check by ZIMRA led to Kuvenga’s arrest.

Advertisement

Kuvenga appeared in court on February 1, where he was denied bail by Magistrate Gift Manyka. He is expected to appear in court again today for another bail hearing.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

National

Retailers send Mnangagwa SOS as shops continue shutting down over operational woes

Published

on


BY ZIMLIVE

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has implored President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene and save the sector which has seen various formal retail and wholesale businesses closing shop countrywide due to operational challenges.

Advertisement

In a statement on Sunday, CZR president Denford Mutashu said the continued closure of formal retail and wholesale businesses is a direct consequence of the tough economic environment that has consistently failed to support formalised sector players who face stiff competition from informal businesses and vendors the majority of whom have no tax obligations to deal with.

Mutashu said his association was concerned that authorities continue to downplay the crisis.

“The recent closure of several outlets under the N. Richards Group, coupled with Spar Zimbabwe’s painful decision to shut down Queensdale Spar, Choppies Zimbabwe’s exit from the market, and Mahommed Mussa’s significant reduction of shop space by 60%, highlights the growing crisis.

Advertisement

“As the representative association for these and other brands, CZR is alarmed that while formal businesses face enormous challenges, the authorities continue to present a different picture of the operating environment,” he said.

Given the situation, Mutashu said, only President Mnangagwa can rescue the troubled sector.

“CZR therefore calls for urgent intervention from His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, to rescue what remains of the formalized retail and wholesale sector,” said Mutashu.

Advertisement

He said the sector was in urgent need of rescue.

“While CZR acknowledges the continued support from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, it is clear that the root causes of these challenges are fiscal and monetary in nature. These require urgent and decisive action to ensure the survival of formal businesses.

“CZR therefore appeals to the Presidium to prioritize interventions aimed at saving jobs and mitigating the ongoing wave of shop closures and retrenchments,” he said.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 VicFallsLive. All rights reserved, powered by Advantage