BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
The Tuesday meeting had to be called off, after only four of the eleven councilors showed up to discuss the findings of the allegations of corruption against the town clerk Ronnie Dube.
Last year, Local Government and Public Works minister July Moyo set up a probe team after some residents’ representatives sought some investigation, accusing Dube of expropriating US$84 000 from the local authority’s account, allocation of a brewery stand to Jackleberry Investments without council authority among other allegations.
Dube was reported by the Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association (VIFACORA) and the MDC Alliance mayor Somvelo Dhlamini, who wrote to the minister asking for a probe.
VIFACORA chairperson Kelvin Moyo expressed disappointment in the councillors conduct.
“This expirience is uncalled for and it also boils down to the fact that there is a deliberate ploy into this.” Moyo said after the city’s chamber secretary Kholwani Mangena told Dhlamini that the number of present councillors could not form a quorum.
The findings were submitted early last month, but have not been shared with the public as the councillors have not been finding each other.
At first, they argued that Dhlamini could not chair as he had a pending criminal case and today, it failed because they could not make a quorum.
It was not revealed why the councillors had snubbed the meeting, although they were informed two days prior and they had reportedly been at the council chambers earlier.
Apart from the report, the meeting was also supposed to address other day to day council issues.
Residents have threatened to hold demonstrations to call for accountability.