The Herald, a state-run publication, has reported that some senior officials in the opposition MDC Alliance, including Nelson Chamisa, Starman Chamisa and Chalton Hwende, have been implicated in the land scam that was unearthed only recently.
The publication also reports that only two councillors – Mr Ian Makone (Ward 18) and Ward 4 councillor Mrs Tracey Chagarisa, out of all 45 Harare Councillors were not implicated in the fraud.
The report comes after a number of officials at the local government authority, including mayor Hebert Gomba, the human resources and former housing director Matthew Marara, the city’s town planner Samuel Nyabeze and surveyor Munyaradzi Bowa have already been arrested over the alleged scam.
A senior council official told The Herald that in December 2019, the MDC A came up with a list of companies to give land to as a strategy to raise funds for the 2023 election campaign.
One of the companies that reportedly benefited from the scam is Hayes Construction, whose director is Mr Charlton Hwende which was allegedly given a site to build flats in Southerton while Chamisa was allocated a 3 000-square-metre stand number 19740 in Gunhill and there is no record of payment.
More: The Herald