The Sunday News
Mcedisi Buhali
CORRUPT officials at Bulawayo City Council’s Housing Department are taking advantage of the chaos that has resulted in the double allocation of residential stands, a development which has seen a council intern appear in court after he fraudulently sold a stand to a Zimbabwean based in South Africa.
These developments leave council’s housing and community services director Mr Isaiah Magagula with egg on the face after he vehemently denied corruption allegations levelled against his department claiming that these were mere rumours being spread by people with a vendetta against his department.
A few weeks ago this publication exposed an alleged scam within the council’s housing and community services department, with officials being accused of shadily selling more stands than those available in Luveve.
It was further reported that some council officials were unscrupulously fast-tracking stand application forms upon receiving bribes from members of the public.
The scam has also sucked in councillors who allegedly approach the senior officials within the department seeking “favours” in the allocation of stands.
Njabulo Sibanda (29), the council intern, together with Trust Nhopi (21), Thandiwe Ncube (50) and Maritha Manyuka (33) last Friday appeared at the Tredgold Magistrate’s Courts before Mr Tinashe Tashaya facing one count of contravening Section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9.23 (Fraud).
The four pleaded not guilty to the offence and were remanded out of custody on $100 bail to 12 February when the trial is set to start.
According to the State outline as presented by the prosecutor, Mr Carrington Dhliwayo, the four defrauded the complainant, Sithabile Pretty Sibanda, of a total of 25 000 South African rand, with the promise of getting her a stand, despite her not being on the waiting list.
Sibanda’s given address is 71590 Lobengula West and is a self-employed hair dresser in South Africa. Only 11 000 rand and $400 was recovered.
“The complainant and Ncube know each other not only in connection with this case but the accused person is mother to the complainant’s friend. Sometime in September 2014, the complainant was in South Africa and she phoned Ncube enquiring whether she had any idea of a residential stand which was being offered for sale. She then affirmed to the complainant that stands were in abundance and advised her to travel back to Zimbabwe to initiate the stand acquisition process.
“During the course of the conversation, Ncube told the complainant that the city council issues residential stands only to those who are on their waiting list. However, since the complainant was not on the waiting list, she could easily facilitate for her alleging that she had many connections at the city council’s housing office,” said the prosecutor.
It is further alleged that after the complainant paid an initial R15 000 for the stand, Sibanda, who by then was working in the council’s Housing and Community Services department, provided a blank form bearing the council letter head upon receiving R4 000 as payment.
“The accused persons highlighted to the complainant that there was an anomaly at the city council housing office in which some residential stands had been double allocated and as such the problem was being rectified. They further told the complainant that they would use the prevailing confusion to secure a stand for her.
“Sibanda then fraudulently acquired the council form and endorsed the complainant’s details before returning it to Nhopi who then passed on the offer letter to the complainant to make her believe that the whole process was done above board,” said Mr Dhliwayo.
It is alleged that upon being “allocated” the stand, the complainant went on to start developing it and further appointed Nhopi as the overseer of the project while she went back to South Africa.
“While the complainant was in South Africa she learnt from a friend about the correct council procedure on how a residential stand becomes rightfully yours and from what she learnt, it came out totally different from what she had gone through.
“The complainant travelled back to Zimbabwe and made follow ups at the city council where she was told that the alleged stand did not exist in any council records and that the offer letter she had produced was fake,” said the prosecutor.
