Bulawayo City Council (BCC) management last Wednesday attempted to reverse a service industry bay in Luveve lease awarded to Ward 28 councillor, Kidwell Mujuru thereby triggering outroar from councillors.
Mujuru, who is the only ZANU PF councillor had been awarded the lease through the council’s sub-committee on the allocation of stands and premises, The Sunday News reported.
Councillors, however, returned an audit report and council confidential minutes to council management and walked out of the council in-committee meeting alleging bribery on the part of management.
In the initial shortlist Mujuru had been judged third with one Mr Wonder Siziba having been awarded the lease.
However, after deliberations and reviewing all the applications, Mujuru was then awarded the lease.
The matter was later handled by the council’s internal audit section which questioned the awarding of the lease to Mujuru and urged that Siziba be given the lease.
Councillors have, however, accused council management of trying to gate-crush Siziba amid bribery allegations. Reads part of an audit report:
Audit received an anonymous letter and later an email querying and alleging bribery and corruption in interviews involving applicants for six tendered sites including Local Authority site 1252 Luveve. The unprocedural award of Local Authority Site 1252 Luveve resulted in reputational and administrative prejudice to the City of Bulawayo as well as financial and business prejudice to Mr Wonder Siziba who had come first in the adjudication process.
Siziba reportedly lost out to Mujuru because he did not reside in the said suburb.